💾 Archived View for library.inu.red › file › prairie-struggle-aims-and-principles.gmi captured on 2023-01-29 at 13:29:47. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
➡️ Next capture (2024-07-09)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Title: Aims and principles Author: Prairie Struggle Date: 2012 Language: en Topics: principles, mission statement Source: Retrieved on July 8, 2014 from https://web.archive.org/web/20140708224005/http://www.prairiestruggle.org/aims-and-principles
The Prairie Struggle is an organization of revolutionaries coming from
different movements of resistance who identify with the communist
tradition within anarchism. The Organization’s activities are organized
around theoretical development, anarchist propaganda, and intervention
in the struggles of our class, be it autonomously or by direct
involvement in social movements.
As anarchist communists we struggle for a classless and non-hierarchical
society. We envision an international federation of radically
democratic, self-managed communities and workplaces. To achieve this
society, our class will need to abolish the wage system, the state, and
the market economy. We reject the division of labour that condemns an
individual to a life of restricted activity for the sake of the
commodity economy. The socialization of all industries, means of
production and distribution will allow for the satisfaction of human
needs, adhering to the communist principle, “From each according to
ability, to each according to need.”
We seek to abolish all forms of capitalism, whether it be free-market
capitalism or so-called “socialist” state capitalism. Capitalism creates
a society divided into antagonistic social classes: a small, elite
ruling class, the coordinator class and a large, exploited working
class. The ruling class owns and controls the means of production and
distribution, and are thereby able to monopolize the wealth. Their
ownership of these two primary functions in society further enables them
to focus production toward their own class interests (commodity
production, increased profits, relentless expansion, etc.) without
regards for society as a whole. The coordinator class, while members of
the working class, is that group of people who do not own the means of
production, but who run the means of production on behalf of the owners.
The coordinator class are people like doctors, lawyers, managers,
engineers, police and military officials that are instrumentalised
against their own class interests. Those of us who are not part of the
capitalist ruling class are forced to sell and rent our labor, whether
physical or intellectual, for a wage in order to survive. We are trapped
in wage slavery.
There is no one single humanity, there is a humanity of classes. Through
inequality, and irreconcilable class interests, an ongoing struggle
exists between different social classes. All aspects of modern
capitalist society are a direct result of this struggle developing
through centuries of conflict. Anarchist-Communism originated within,
and was developed through, the every day struggles of the working class
against the oppression of class rule.
We are opposed to all forms of Statism and hierarchical government. The
purpose of any State, whether “representative democracies” or
totalitarian dictatorships, is to administrate society in a way that
ensures that the privileges of the ruling class are upheld. In order to
accomplish this, the State must centralize and monopolize power through
a complex network of political, cultural, legislative, judiciary,
military and financial institutions. This system results in all power
being removed from ordinary people, and leads to a society based on
hierarchy. By placing itself outside and yet in control of society, the
State negates the social and political potential of society and
transforms all logical social functions into bureaucratic State
functions.
Of all oppression in the world, one of the most entrenched is that of
patriarchy, the domination of men over women. This domination expresses
itself everywhere--in both private and public realms. Although it is
perpetuated by capitalism and the State, patriarchy existed prior to
them and without confrontation will exist beyond their abolition.
Anarchist feminism is a theory and practice by which we critique and
attack the triple reign of patriarchy, capitalism, and the State,
through the realization that this sexual, economic and political
subjugation has at it’s heart the common principle of authority. Only by
uniting both the revolutionary class perspective of anarchism and the
feminist critique of patriarchy can anarchism and feminism reach their
common goal of human liberation. “There will be no revolution without
women’s liberation. There will be no women’s liberation without
revolution.”
Exploitation and oppression are also expressed through social
inequalities and hierarchies based on race and ethnic origin. Like
patriarchy, this form of social oppression is used to divide and weaken
the working class and must be opposed at every level. Throughout the
history of the world, class stratification has been defined in large
part by race. Although racism is perpetuated by capitalism and class
society, it will not necessarily end with the abolition of the
capitalist social structure. We work to combat racism in all its forms
and support those from our class who organize within the revolutionary
movement for social liberation.
Capitalist patriarchy uses a specific set of gender roles in order to
reproduce itself. These expectations breed homophobia and lead to an
environment that limits an individuals personal sexual development. We
strive for an environment free from oppressive socialization that traps
us into a specific sexual identity and lifestyle.
Capitalism also threatens the planet with ecological destruction. To
achieve balance between humanity and the natural world, we must create a
society which is based on the satisfaction of true needs such as food,
shelter, water, and community. Modern environmental destruction is a
result of capitalism’s strife to commodify the natural world, for the
wealth of a small minority. We recognize that social transformation is
the first step towards ecological balance, not lifestyle changes or
technological innovations. We recognize that the destruction of
capitalism is the only avenue towards rescuing the planet’s biosphere,
and by extension, ourselves.
Capitalism further endangers the world and humanity through imperialism
and its manifestation: war. Imperialism expresses itself in two
different manners: one uses brute force through direct state military
intervention, while the other uses economic coercion through
transnational financial institutions. As anarchist-communists, we are
opposed to both forms of imperialism.
We recognize that colonialism is entrenched within both the capitalist
and state system. The struggle against capitalism and the state must
include the struggle against colonialism, and the antagonisms these
systems and cultures have created. As an anarchist-communist
organization we recognize the legitimacy of cultural identity but oppose
a dual-state solution to colonialism. Therefore, we struggle for
federalism and unity within the working class while striving to
demystify the relations of colonialism working to divide our class
interests.
We do not support the ideology of national liberation movements, which
claims that there are common interests held between the working class
and the native ruling class in the face of foreign domination. Although
we support working class struggles against political and economic
imperialism, racism, genocide and colonization, we are opposed to the
creation of a new ruling class. We believe that the defeat of
imperialism will only come about through a social revolution waged
against both the imperialists and the local ruling class. This social
revolution will have to spread across national borders. We further
reject all forms of nationalism as this only serves to redefine
divisions in the international working class. The working class has no
country, and national boundaries must be eliminated. We must encourage
and develop international solidarity which will one day lay the basis
for a global social revolution.
Workers self-organization is essential to social revolution. It
originates from the actions and interests of workers, not laws and
regulations. The basis of workers organization is direct democracy: in
opposition to hierarchy, workers must directly and equally participate
in any decision that affects them; direct action: not an appeal to
power, but the seizure of power by workers through strikes, slowdowns,
sabotage and expropriation; and solidarity: the mutual aid of workers in
struggle, to the highest degree possible. In the creation and
transformation of these workers organizations we encourage and support
maximum tactical flexibility.
The major focus of our activity is to work at those crucial points where
working class people are organizing together for control over their
lives, the decisions affecting them and against oppression. These areas
stretch from workplaces activity in the unions to neighbourhood
activism. We also see it as vital to work in struggles that happen
outside the unions and the workplace.
We recognize that any deeply entrenched system based on power and
privilege will not allow itself to be peacefully abolished. True
liberation can only be attained by social revolution. For us, the
concept of a social revolution is not an abstract metaphor, but, rather
a very real social war against every form of oppression. While we don’t
fetishize violence or armed struggle, we understand it will require
revolutionary force on the part of the working class to bring about
social emancipation. Such a revolutionary situation can only emerge from
social movements and the radicalization of the working class. We
advocate radicalization of every struggle. By means of this
radicalization and of our involvement in the various resistance
movements in which we participate, we encourage the development of an
autonomous class consciousness, the only safeguard against political
recuperation. We defend, everywhere and always, the autonomous
organization and revolutionary self-activity of the working class.
We believe that, if only to wage the battle of ideas, anarchist
organizations are necessary. We reject the vision which reduces the idea
of revolution to the authoritarian seizure of power by a centralized
body believing to be acting in the name of the masses. We know that this
vision has led to bloody dictatorships and has nothing to do with
socialism. The anarchist organization is neither a party, nor a
self-proclaimed vanguard, but an active minority in the working class.
It is a rallying point taking part in the theoretical and practical
fight against all authoritarian ideology.
We are internationalists based in the prairie region of North America,
and recognize that a social revolution must be global if it is to
succeed. We develop and maintain international relationships,
solidarity, and discussions to build a united revolutionary anarchist
movement.
We recognize a need for anarchist organizations who agree with these
principles to federate on an regional, national and international basis.
However, we believe the degree of federation possible and the amount of
effort put into it must be determined by success at building
organizations capable of making such work a reality, rather than a
matter of slogans.