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Title: Militant Anarchism Author: Revolutionary Action Date: 2007 Language: en Topics: militant, Insurrectionary, manifesto, social anarchism, platformism Source: Retrieved on 4th June 2022 from a translation of https://web.archive.org/web/20190214223449/http://revbel.org/wp-content/uploads/Militant-anarhizm.pdf
What do we want from our movement?
If you attend DIY concerts, classify yourself as a member of the punk
subculture, the anti-fascist movement, then you need to think about what
goals you are pursuing? What is all this for — concerts and parties,
patches and badges, conversations and activism?
The political views of those in the punk scene today are commonly
referred to as “anarchist”. But this combination of punk rock,
vegetarianism and DIY, is it really anarchism? In the minds of most
punks, hardcore players and other subculturists, anarchism has become a
political appendage of punk rock, in fact, another youth subculture.
However, should it be? In our opinion, if we want changes in the world
around us, it’s time to go beyond the hangouts and start spreading our
views more widely.
The authors of the brochure invite all readers, everyone who is
interested in changing the world for the better, to reconsider their
views on anarchism, subculture and punk rock. Let our alternative —
militant anarchism — not scare you with its name. We explain our views
in the brochure that we bring to your attention.
Enjoy reading!
The essence of militant anarchism, and its difference from other
currents of anarchism, consists of three main parts: theory, aesthetics,
practice.
The theoretical basis of militant anarchism is social anarchism. We are
close to the new, modern forms of anarcho-communism and syndicalism. We
strive for a free society (Anarchy). It is tangible and real for us, and
the achievement of this society is a goal for us, not a way of life.
Fighting for Anarchy without believing that Anarchy is feasible is
meaningless. A libertarian society is the clouds brought down to earth,
it is the final result and culmination of all our efforts. In order to
achieve this society, we believe that propaganda is necessary among the
widest sections of the population, it is necessary to involve the widest
possible range of people in your ideas, and create a positive image of
an anarchist among the population. It is obvious that to do this within
the framework of one subculture will never work.
The aesthetics of militant anarchism is fundamentally different from the
aesthetics of anarchist subcultures. Its essence is to show in its
entire way a completely different emotional-sensual, mental component of
anarchism. This will be manifested in clothes, in behavior, in the
manner of actions. Today, most anarchists are all kinds of
subculturists. We want to show that anarchism is a political theory,
political and social action, and not a youth subculture; in our opinion,
anarchism within the framework of only one subculture is a road to
nowhere. Many anarchists complain to the media that they create a
negative image of the anarchist. And at the same time, most anarchists
themselves actively support this image! It is necessary to abandon the
gouging, party, alcohol-indifferent elements of punk aesthetics, which
are now present in anarchism. They corrupt the movement, contribute to
the rejection of people from us and the degradation of the anarchists
themselves. Is it really necessary to prove the harm caused by
drunkenness and gouging in motion? Most of our comrades, in their
reflections, start from the thought: “I am an anarchist, so I can ...
(thump, dynamize stocks, take drugs, look like a homeless person)”
instead of taking for truth the concept: “I am an anarchist, and
therefore I must ... (don’t be drunk, exercise, look decent, be
disciplined).” Demanding on oneself and pride in the title of
“anarchist” is absent as such.
We want to introduce a completely different image of an anarchist into
the minds of people and, first of all, into the minds of the anarchists
themselves, in order to strengthen our movement itself and involve new
people in it. Naturally, we are all people, not robots, and have nothing
against parties , but only if they do not intersect with our action, but
do not depend on it.
The main argument of the supporters of anarchism as a “life style” is
that the revolution, which will ultimately lead to the liberation of all
people from oppression and exploitation, is a very long-term
perspective, which means that now there is nothing left but to have fun
and get drunk. However, it is precisely by such reasoning that we put
off our main goal and task, we kill the very idea of ​​anarchism. After
all, what could be more selfish than making anarchy a part of your
little world, which is a subculture (punk scene, party), instead of
carrying it to absolutely everyone. Let’s think together what prevents
us from carrying the positive, positive ideas of anarchism, thereby
bringing a new, much more just world closer?
It’s a no brainer that it’s not about the people themselves, who are not
familiar with the ideas of anarchism. The problem is in the form in
which we present our ideas to people. Of course, what factory worker
would react positively to anarchism if he was handed a leaflet by a guy
with crimson hair and meter-long tunnels? We believe that you can’t go
far on punk rock alone, and you won’t force everyone to listen to it, so
let’s expand our “audience”! Many, of course, will consider our words as
authoritarianism: “You still make us wear a uniform.” No, we do not
force anyone to wear a uniform, but let’s think a little:
From all sorts of “anarcho-immorals” you can constantly hear that they
are different from the gray mass of people. But when they come to any
event, they immediately become like a mass, a mass of guys dressed and
cut in the same way. They say they are special and protest society. But
what is this protest? In systematic drunkenness? So after all, the
majority of society does the same! Wearing badges and stripes? Talking
about activism? And this is not to mention the tacit competition in the
party on the topic “who bought what.” Militant anarchists, not
recognizing any uniform, are completely fenced off from the huge army of
party-goers competing in the presence of certain brands. That is why we
choose simple, discreet clothes as our style of clothing, without any
symbols, stripes, badges, etc. The main requirements that we impose on
clothing are its accessibility, convenience, and aesthetics. In a
society where every subculture is sold out, it makes no sense to strive
to stand out from the crowd through original clothing, because any
style, any appearance has already been bought in advance and resold a
million times by the machine of capitalism. Therefore, clothing for an
activist must meet, first of all, practical requirements.
A separate topic for discussion is the concept of discipline in our
circles. We are not Nazis, so I repeat, our ideal is not a barracks and
an even line of people marching towards their goal, but well-prepared,
organized and disciplined groups of like-minded people capable of
resisting enemies. For our common purposes, all old prejudices about
discipline and organization should be abandoned. Our discipline is
SELF-discipline. It is based on the deepest understanding of each
militant anarchist of their goals, duties and responsibilities. And only
through this understanding and awareness of his role does a person begin
to engage in revolutionary action wholeheartedly, with desire and
enthusiasm. Such discipline is much better and more effective than the
state “stick” discipline. Although it is certainly much more difficult
to achieve it. However, the majority of today’s anarchist party-goers do
not recognize this variant of organization either, not wanting to take
any responsibility, preferring spontaneous actions “out of frenzy” to
systematic actions “when necessary”.
The actions and activity of any movement determine its face. We are what
we do. Our practice determines what kind of people will come to us,
determines the face of modern anarchism, and, no less important, the
attitude of society towards us.
Since our main way of changing the world is propaganda, militant
anarchists choose the two most effective ways of propaganda — propaganda
by action (direct action), and propaganda by example. If you don’t need
to explain anything about the first, then let’s explain about the second
— the best propaganda of anarchism is the creation of such an image of
an anarchist that will attract people, and who, by his very existence,
will be a man of the future, a revolutionary breaking the road to a new
world. Non-drinker, non-smoker, responsible, full of determination and
self-confidence — this is how a militant anarchist should be, so that
everyone who sees him respects not only himself, but also our whole
idea.
We choose direct action as the main vector of practice because people
who regularly participate in the same fights see things in forceful
actions in a completely different way, they already have a different
attitude towards all activism. Direct action strengthens and disciplines
people. That is why we want to introduce elements of “militancy” into
our movement, make a bias towards forceful actions and direct action —
so that people on this basis change their attitude to life, to the
movement, be more disciplined, responsible, organized. In the end, stop
being weak and infantile! It is time for us to be truly strong, to
become a threat, a cohesive fighting force that is capable of hitting
not only the nation but also our main enemy, the state, like a clenched
fist. And let us be accused of the cult of physical strength, because we
know very well that we will never create any cult for ourselves. Our
direct action will sound much louder than any beautiful words spoken
during drinking and parties, and also louder than any official
propaganda, because the results of our action will be there, everyone
will be able to see them. The streams of lies pouring from the media
screens cannot drown out the indisputable facts. We will immediately
break a huge number of stereotypes associated with our ideological
choice, cleanse anarchism from the husk of lies, erase the image of
sectarianism that partially reigns in punk-hardcore circles due to all
sorts of quotes and stupid intra-party stereotypes, we will attract to
our side people who are repelled by punk aesthetic, but attracted to the
ideas of anarchism. The list is endless. The main areas of our activity
are direct action, training, and security of events. We proceed from the
fact that a person hardened in extreme activity will feel much more
confident in any other actions, and will approach any other action in a
completely different way. With the help of power actions, gaining
self-confidence, each of us will be able to solve the daily tasks of
activism much easier, and a person who is confident in his strength
(both physical and spiritual) will cope with minor everyday problems
without problems!
Through revolutionary action, we will create a new type of activist, a
man of the future, whose strength, determination and self-righteousness
will inspire fear in enemies, whose unshakable confidence in victory
will forever bury the whining that “anarchy is not possible.” There is
no impossible, there are weak people!
Militant anarchism for life!
NOTES:
only the desire for organization and elements of militant aesthetics.
Everything else is discarded as alien to anarchism
practical doctrine.
propaganda. Like: handing out leaflets, posting stickers, drawing
graffiti, making literature, online propaganda. Militant anarchists can
do that too. However, for ourselves, we single out two main vectors —
propaganda by our own example (training, a healthy lifestyle), and
direct action (street war, protection of events, power actions).
that in order to achieve its goal, anarchism must “jump” above the
subculture, overcome it. Only by going beyond marginality, beyond
parties “of interest” can we talk about a serious movement that poses a
threat to the authorities.
Despite the rather detailed explanation of our principles in the
manifesto, some points remained misunderstood. The reaction to our
manifesto on the Internet was very violent. The number of people
supporting and not supporting our initiative was approximately equal.
They began to take an interest in us, they began to ask us questions.
Since most of the questions were repeated, as well as our answers to
them, we decided to write a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) on militant
anarchism. Below is the FAQ. Most likely, in it you will find most of
the answers to the questions that you had while reading the manifesto.
An anarchist militant can only be a person with willpower. If a person
cannot give up smoking, it means that he does not have willpower, such a
person cannot be with us. After all, how can you hope to change the
people around you (not to mention the whole world) if you yourself are
subject to a slavish, slowly killing habit? As for alcohol, there can be
no people in our ranks who are prone to the habit of drinking alcohol
excessively. Some militant anarchists can afford to drink “on holidays”
or on exceptional occasions, but will never allow themselves to drink
themselves into an animal state, or turn alcohol consumption into a
habit that interferes with our activities. The position of many alcohol
“anarchists” is incomprehensible. They consider themselves very
independent individuals with a capital letter, but at the same time,
psychologically, and sometimes even physically, they depend on alcohol
(supplied, by the way, by the state).
No. It is written purely for practical purposes. You won’t drive drunk,
will you? Also, we do not allow any action “under the hood”. The smoking
person always loses in physical. training not having such a habit. Sport
is necessary to build self-confidence, self-discipline and improve
physical fitness. Plus, a healthy, neat person without bad habits is a
good example for others.
our activities.
Militant anarchists can listen to any music, support any direction in
art. Here there is complete freedom. Militant-anarchism is not limited
by youth subcultures.
protection actions?
We have nothing against such actions, however, we believe that the main
thing is that a person who has taken on several such initiatives at once
should be able to bring them all to the end in good faith. It’s just
that too often there are cases when an activist simply does not cope
with all the duties assigned to him, which, undoubtedly, harms the
movement. Let everyone do what he does best and do it to the best of his
ability.
on a variety of topics?
Of course, despite the fact that we have identified direct action and
self-development as our priority, we can participate, and we participate
in a variety of actions that are stirred up by other anarchists. In
addition to its “specialized” activities, the AI ​​can also distribute
leaflets, bomb graffiti, go to demonstrations, etc. etc.
branches, and again divide into some kind of new “anarchists”, because
we already have enough divisions!?
Militant anarchists in no way separate themselves from anarchism in
general, from the anarchist movement. We are not separatists, and we
fence ourselves off only from the subcultural part of anarchism. Our
course is rather an internal trend, a direction “for our own”, which we
would like to develop. One often hears the question: “what is the
difference between you and ordinary anarchists, except that you do not
drink and are not late for arrows?” Let’s list again the priorities in
our activities and our differences from the “average” member of the
anarchist community:
protection of events.
Our course has GOALS and OBJECTIVES
We have one goal, the same as that of all anarchists — the establishment
of a free society.
The tasks lie in the plane of changing the modern anarchist movement.
The tasks of militant-anarchism:
abuses alcohol and drugs, and often engages only in activities that are
understandable to him, to the image of a strong-willed, disciplined,
fit, educated young man (girl) leading a healthy lifestyle. What is the
essence of the image change, you ask? Why not just “be who you are”? The
fact is that all people have a psychological property: if a person as a
whole makes a favorable impression, causes sympathy and respect, then
all his other actions, thoughts, ideas are also presented in a positive
light. This means that people will think of Anarchy in the same way as
anarchists. And if anarchism is promoted by a person with a positive
image (described above), causing sympathy with his appearance and
behavior, then from his mouth the words about anarchism will sound much
more convincing to those around him. In psychology, this is called the
“halo effect”. An example of this can also be the election of well-known
actors and cultural figures to the posts of politicians, who, according
to their knowledge, are very far from politics. These people are
recognizable by people, loved, people endow them with positive
characteristics. Therefore, people think (often recklessly) that the
actor will cope with the government as well as with the game in the
film.
Forgetting about this important property of the human psyche, anarchists
lose a lot, and then they scold the inhabitants themselves that they are
“cattle” and do not want to accept anarchist ideas.
majority of anarchists. This is what we will be doing.
to direct action, which, as you know, is louder than words.
There may be women among militant anarchists. Although we are against
the participation of women in violent actions and clashes, it is quite
obvious that otherwise they can be the same carriers of our ideas and
activism. Attending training sessions will not hurt the girls either —
the acquired skills can come in handy in extreme conditions.
One of the most common questions. People ask: “What is your militant
aesthetic, and does it contradict anarchism? After all, militarism is
one of the components of the state ideology.” To begin with, let’s
decipher the word “militant”.
Our “militancy” is nothing more than its separate outward
manifestations. As we already wrote in the manifesto, I would like to
protect myself from subculturists with a simpler and more ordinary style
of clothing, which has undeniable advantages for the activist.
Organization and self-discipline are also part of the “militancy” that
we are ready to adopt.
force us to be the same and walk in formation! This is personal abuse!
We do not seek any violence against a person, if only because militant
anarchism is voluntary. We are not introducing a monopoly on anarchism.
No one is going to force anyone to change their subcultural clothes for
simpler ones, go to the rocking chair and start leading a healthy
lifestyle. If you don’t want to, don’t subscribe to our ideas. Where
same here “totalitarianism”? Yes, we set certain limits for ourselves,
to be more precise, we set clear principles. But struggle is struggle,
and if we want to achieve something, we have to make sacrifices, at
least to force ourselves to do something. Otherwise, we will achieve
nothing. If, for someone, all “freedom of the individual” consists in
the freedom of alcoholism, drug addiction, gouging and attending punk
concerts, then these are his problems, just do not call it anarchism.
We, by communication, by our example, facts, practice, want to prove to
the rest of our comrades that the path we have chosen is the most
effective, and will most likely lead us to our common goal.
As a result of the discussion on the Internet, many people have formed
the question: “Well, I support the positions you have outlined, and
what’s next?” So we answer — you can proudly consider yourself one of us
:) In short, we have formulated five rules that should be followed by
those who would like to be with us and act with us in the same
direction.
socialism)
Anarchy.
go to achieve them.
widest possible circle of people.
Anyone who adheres to these 5 points can consider themselves a militant
anarchist.
If you are close to the ideas outlined above — get in touch with us at:
ma@riseup.net. Working together is always more effective. If, on the
contrary, you want to argue, or bring something new to our idea —
especially contact us. We are always open to dialogue and ready to
listen to reasoned criticism. Most importantly, don’t be indifferent!
Look around, think, decide! And remember — everything is in our hands!