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Title: What is Direct Action? Author: sub.media Date: 2017 Language: en Topics: direct action, primer, video transcription, Breadtube Source: https://sub.media/video/what-is-direct-action/
Direct Action is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot when describing
anarchist tactics…. and rightly so, since it’s one of the main ways
anarchists put our values of autonomy, self-organization and mutual aid
into practice. So… what is it exactly? Well, a simple definition would
be to say that a direct action is a political action aimed at achieving
a specific goal or objective, and which is carried out directly by an
individual or group of people, without appealing to a higher authority
for legitimacy.
Now, this broad definition covers a huge range of activities… everything
from banner drops, to prison breaks. And it doesn’t necessarily tell us
much about the politics of those carrying out the action itself Direct
actions are tactics– meaning that they are a specific type of action
that can be used to implement a wide variety of strategies. While you
don’t have to be an anarchist in order to carry out, or to participate
in a direct action, the concept itself holds a special importance for
anarchists and other anti-authoritarian radicals. And that’s because
well-timed and well-executed direct actions can offer an escape from the
endless cycle of representational politics, which assumes its highest
form in the state. The German philosopher Max Weber famously defined the
state as a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force.
In other words, state violence, whether dispensed by a politician’s pen,
a judge’s gavel, or a cop’s baton, is a manifestation of legitimate
force, and a harsh reminder of the state’s role as the ultimate mediator
of social conflict. This mandate includes everything from interpersonal
disputes that end up settled in the courts, or by someone calling the
cops… all the way up to the broader conflicts that spring from systemic
inequality and the structural imbalances inherent to capitalism,
colonialism, white supremacy, ableism and hetero-patriarchy. In its
purest form, direct action does not aim to persuade those in power, but
seeks to foster and assert the power of those carrying out the action
themselves.
When people carry out a direct action, they are rejecting the state’s
monopoly on decision-making, and asserting their own autonomy while
providing an example for others to follow. To take just one example,
rather than petitioning a politician to vote against the construction of
a pipeline or appealing to state-controlled regulatory bodies, those who
favour a direct action approach often find it more effective and
empowering to go out and block the pipeline themselves… directly. Direct
action can also be used to set up networks of mutual aid.
Fifty years ago, the Black Panthers were faced with the reality of
widespread poverty and lack of service provision in their communities.
Rather than appealing to the government, or to the conscience of White
America, the Panthers set to work organizing their own health clinics
and breakfast programs for hungry school children. These programs were
part of a broader strategy of building community power, and were
identified by FBI Director J Edgar Hoover as a primary threat to
national security – by which he meant a threat to the legitimacy of the
state, and the white supremacist power structure that upholds it.
Because they transgress the official channels of politics, and often the
law itself, direct action campaigns are inevitably met with a whole
toolbox of tactics aimed at bringing conflicts back under state control.
These can range from state and corporate-funded non-profits infiltrating
and co-opting grassroots movements in order to force a change in tactics
or leadership, all the way up to extreme repression, such as mass
incarceration and targeted assasinations carried out by state and
paramilitary forces.
Although as a concept, direct action has probably existed for as long as
there have been hierarchies to rebel against, the term itself dates back
to the early workers movement, where it was used to describe militant
practices such as industrial sabotage and wildcat strikes. By physically
blocking production, and collectively defending themselves from
repression, workers were able to force concessions from their capitalist
masters. The widespread use of these tactics eventually led to the
legalization of trade unions and a whole host of concessions aimed at
bringing the more radical sections of the workers movement back under
state control.
One of the most significant heydays of direct action in modern history
took place in 1970s Italy. Faced with a housing crisis provoked by
capitalist restructuring of the economy, thousands of migrants from the
country’s south squatted apartment blocks, and physically defended
families from eviction. When the government attempted to hike transit
fares and energy costs, tens of thousands of people refused to pay the
increased rates, in collective actions known as auto-reductions. Italy
was, at that time, a deeply religious, conservative and rigidly
patriarchal country, in which both abortion and divorce were illegal.
Within this context, a fearless women’s liberation movement organized an
underground network of clinics, with doctors and nurses providing
hundreds of volunteers, with necessary skills to perform clean and safe
abortions. This direct action approach to reproductive health was
complimented by massive and regular demonstrations calling for the
legalization of abortion, which were ultimately successful.
In our current age of increasing polarization, uncertainty and
insecurity, direct action offers a way for our movements to build and
assert our collective power, both to defend our communities, and to
fight for the world we want to live in.