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Title: Marxism or Anarchism?
Author: Anarcho
Date: November 2003
Language: en
Topics: marxism, debate, Trotskyism, speech
Source: Retrieved on 29th January 2021 from https://anarchism.pageabode.com/?p=164
Notes: A talk given as part of a debate organised by the Trotskyist party “Alliance for Workers’ Liberty.” A basic introduction to why anarchism is better than Leninism.

Anarcho

Marxism or Anarchism?

(This is, more or less, the speech given at a debate organised by the

Leninist Party “Alliance for Workers Liberty” in November, 2003. The

debate was entitled “Marxism or Anarchism?” although it would have been

better called “Leninism or Anarchism?” I’ve made a few clarification to

the text at a few points in light of the subsequent contributions at the

meeting, but the text is approximately 95% the same. I’ve also taken the

liberty of adding footnotes so that interested readers can investigate

the issues further. These reference “An Anarchist FAQ”. Given how badly

the AWL came across at the meeting I doubt I will be invited back any

time soon!).

Introduction

Before starting, I would like to stress that I’m addressing mainstream

Marxism here. In other words, Social Democracy and Leninism/Trotskyism.

I am not talking about libertarian forms of Marxism which are close to

Anarchism such as council communism or some forms of Autonomous Marxism.

So, with that caveat, I will begin.

Marxism has failed. Where has it actually produced socialism? Nowhere.

Rather it has created various one-party dictatorships presiding over

state capitalist economies. Ironically, the “victories” of Marxism

simply ended up providing empirical evidence for anarchist critiques of

it. Social Democracy became reformist. The Bolshevik revolution quickly

became the dictatorship over the proletariat. Just as we predicted.

In spite of this there are still Marxists around so I will discuss why

Marxism was doomed to fail and indicate the anarchist alternative

Marxists versus Anarchism

Marxists tend to repeat certain straw men arguments about anarchism, so

it is useful to clear the decks and go over them now.

Marxists like to assert (to quote Engels) that anarchists think of “the

state as the main evil to be abolished.” This is utter nonsense. If you

read anarchist theory you quickly discover that we are clearly opposed

to capitalism as well as other forms of hierarchy. We see both the state

and capitalism being abolished at the same time. To suggest otherwise is

to distort our ideas. [1]

Then there is the notion that anarchists reject collective class

struggle. While this is totally false, Marxists usually say we do! In

reality, you just have to read anarchist thinkers like Bakunin or

Kropotkin, to see the truth. [2]

Another straw man is Lenin’s assertion that anarchists “while advocating

the destruction of the state machine, have absolutely no idea of what

the proletariat will put in its place.” Such an assertion is simply

incredible, given that revolutionary anarchists had been doing this

since the 1860s! For example, Bakunin argued that “since it is the

people which must make the revolution everywhere ... the ultimate

direction of it must at all times be vested in the people organised into

a free federation of agricultural and industrial organisations ...

organised from the bottom up through revolutionary delegation.” These

councils would be composed of “delegates ... invested with binding

mandates and accountable and revocable at all times.” In other words, a

system of workers’ councils to both fight capitalism and replace it. And

what Lenin only started to argue for in 1917, five decades after

anarchists had come to that conclusion! [3]

And I must point out that anarchists do not think that the capitalist

class will just “disappear” after a revolution. Thus we find Lenin

quoted Marx suggesting that it was a case of the “abolition of the

state” meaning the “laying down of arms.” As if. Do Marxists really

think anarchists are really that stupid? In reality, Anarchist

opposition to the “workers’ state” has absolutely nothing to do with

defending a revolution. In fact, we argue for a federation of communes

and a workers militia “for common defence” against the

counter-revolution. To say otherwise is pure nonsense. [4]

In reality, anarchists do not think a revolution will create an perfect

society “overnight” so to speak. Quite the reverse. We see revolution as

a difficult process. There are no instant utopias. Kropotkin, for

example, argued that a social revolution would “shak[e] the foundations

of industry” and “inevitably paralyse exchange and production.” Every

revolution, before and since, have confirmed the correctness of the

anarchist position. [5]

Then there is the argument that anarchism is “anti-democratic.” This is

derived from Engels equally inaccurate diatribe “On Authority” and like

that full of straw man arguments (for example, Engels assertion that we

reject “all” authority!). [6]

The “anarchism is ‘anti-democratic’” argument is most associated with

Leninist Hal Draper. He argued that “of all ideologies, anarchism is the

most fundamentally anti-democratic in principle, since it is not only

unalterably hostile to democracy in general but particularly to any

socialist democracy of the most ideal kind that could be imagined.” Such

as argument is, of course, just ridiculous. So anarchism is less

democratic than fascism, monarchism, Stalinism? Is it really less

democratic than Trotsky and his “dictatorship of the party”? Of course

not, yet Marxists repeat Draper’s comment with a straight face!

The certain flaw in Draper’s argument is the obvious fact that the

majority can be wrong and minorities have the right and duty to rebel.

To take a pertinent example, in 1914 the leaders of the Social

Democratic Party in the German Parliament voted for war credits. The

anti-war minority went along with the majority. Would Draper argue that

they were right to do so? They were subject to the “most perfect

socialist democracy” after all. Or take the recent wildcat strikes by

Postal Workers. Would Marxists oppose them as they were initially the

work of a minority and the majority of union members had rejected strike

action in a ballot? I doubt it! [7]

Draper argues for “democratic control from below” instead of anarchism.

Of course, anarchists like Bakunin had argued for elected, mandated and

recallable delegates long before the Paris Commune but let us forget

that little fact. So what does Draper’s scheme actually involve?

Marxism, as Lenin made clear, does not aim for direct working class

power, but power to the party, which we have to obey (or else!). As

Trotsky put it, “a revolution is ‘made’ directly by a minority. The

success of a revolution is possible, however, only where this minority

finds more or less support, or at least friendly neutrality, on the part

of the majority.” So Draper’s “democratic control from below” simply

results in power being centralised into fewer and fewer hands. The

“dictatorship of the proletariat” becomes, in fact, the “dictatorship

over the proletariat” by the party. [8]

And it would be churlish to note that, once in power, Marxists

themselves have habitually rejected democracy when it suited them and

justified it in ideological terms. So, remember when Lenin or Trotsky

argue for the dictatorship of the party, the over-riding of the

democratic decisions (“wavering”) of the masses by the party, the

elimination of soldiers and workers committees by appointees armed with

“dictatorial” power or when the Bolshevik gerrymander soviets and

disbanded any elected with non-Bolshevik majorities, it is anarchism

which is fundamentally “anti-democratic”! [9]

Real Differences between Anarchism and Marxism

So those where a few of the most common Marxist fallacies about

Anarchism. This brings us to the big question, namely what are, from an

anarchist perspective, the real differences between Anarchism and

Marxism.

Firstly, there is centralisation. Anarchists argue that this hinders

participation of the many, marginalising the population. It places power

into a few hands and, at best, we end up picking our masters rather than

governing ourselves. It is top down and bureaucratic by its very nature

as well as being rooted in the inequality of power — those at the top

have more power than those at the bottom. And I must stress that this

opposition to centralisation does not mean opposition to co-ordination,

a subject I will return to. [10]

Related to this is the question of the so-called “workers’ state.”

Marxists are for it, anarchists are against it. As noted earlier, our

opposition to the “worker’s state” has nothing to do with having to

defend a revolution. Rather, it derives from anarchists and Marxists

having two different definitions of the state. For the Anarchist, the

state is the concentration of power into a few hands. This, we argue, is

because it is designed for, and required to, ensure minority class rule.

In contrast, the Marxist definition of the state is that it is an

“instrument of class rule.” We argue that this is, unlike the anarchist

one, a metaphysical definition and utter ignores the key issue, namely

who has power. Moreover, it opens the door for the nonsense used to

justify Bolshevik dictatorship during the Russian revolution. [11]

So our opposition to the “workers’ state” is really about who has power:

is it the working class or the party? For Marxists, it is the latter. As

Trotsky argued in 1939 (18 years after he made similar arguments when he

was in power) “The very same masses are at different times inspired by

different moods and objectives. It is just for this reason that a

centralised organisation of the vanguard is indispensable. Only a party,

wielding the authority it has won, is capable of overcoming the

vacillation of the masses themselves ... if the dictatorship of the

proletariat means anything at all, then it means that the vanguard of

the proletariat is armed with the resources of the state in order to

repel dangers, including those emanating from the backward layers of the

proletariat itself.” So much for “workers’ power”! And, as everyone is,

by definition, is “backward” compared to the vanguard, we have the

theoretical justification for the party dictatorship. A conclusion

Trotsky was not shy in embracing. [12]

Then there is the question of “socialism from above.” Following Hal

Draper, Marxists like to assert they are against this and in favour of

“socialism from below.” However, anarchists reject such claims. [13]

Most obviously, we argue that the centralism Marxists support

necessitates decision making and so rule “from above.” Then there is the

fact Marxism is rooted in “from above.” As Lenin stressed, “the

organisational principle of revolutionary Social-Democracy” was “to

proceed from the top downward.” Ironically, he stressed that

“limitation, in principle, of revolutionary action to pressure from

below and renunciation of pressure also from above is anarchism.” This

was no temporary aberration. He infamously repeated this argument in

1920, in his defence of party power “Left-Wing Communism: An Infantile

Disorder.” Significantly, Lenin ignored the role of the proletariat in

the “dictatorship of the proletariat.” However, he did stress the role

of the 19 members of the Central Committee. [14]

So in these days of protests against the G8, we find the key the

difference between Leninism and capitalism. Under capitalism, 8 people

make decisions for millions. Under Bolshevism, 19 people make them.

Then there is the question of “vanguardism,” of the role and

organisation of the “revolutionary” party. It must be stressed that

anarchists do not reject the idea of revolutionaries organising together

to influence the class struggle. Far from it. [15] We do, however,

reject the Leninist way of organising and influencing implied in the

term “vanguardism.”

For anarchists, this is the “revolutionary” party organised in a

capitalist manner: centralised, top-down, hierarchical. It recreates the

very society it says its against and, if given the chance, will simply

rebuild the “new” society in its own image. It is based on the premise

that workers can only achieve trade union consciousness which lays the

ground for party dictatorship as opposition to the party line can be

dismissed as “petty-bourgeois”! As it was, once the party was in power.

[16]

Moreover, it does not work that well. In 1917, Lenin had to fight his

own party machine. It was only by ignoring its own rules that it was

effective! Even more ironically, by applying its own rules post-1917, it

helped to undermine the revolution. [17]

Lastly, there is the different visions of what socialism is. In 1917,

Lenin openly argued for state capitalism. He considered “socialism” as

being state capitalism made to serve all the people. For Lenin,

“socialism” was not built on working class organisation but rather built

on the structures created by the capitalist class and the capitalist

state. Rather than see workers’ self-management as the key issue in

socialism, he considered nationalisation as key to determining if Russia

was “socialist.” Which, as he noted in “State and Revolution”, was

essentially universal wage slavery to the state! Unsurprisingly, given

this, support for “workers’ control” was quickly abandoned in favour of

one-man management. A development, incidentally, which was never

considered as a mistake or a retreat! [18]

Ultimately, the real differences between anarchism and Marxism is that

we have totally different ideas of what socialism would look like and

how to get there. [19]

The Russian Revolution

Which brings me to the Russian revolution. Indeed, if it was not for

this revolution we would not be having this meeting. Social Democracy

showed it was bankrupt in 1914 and without the apparent success of the

Bolsheviks, Marxism would have been written off as flawed. The hope of

the Russian Revolution saved Marxism and still inspires many today.

Anarchists, unsurprisingly, do not see this event in quite the same

light as Marxists. For us, it clearly shows the failure of Marxism. It

simply brought the flaws in Marxism into the foreground.

When asked what they want, Marxists almost always point you in the

direction of Lenin’s “State and Revolution.” This seems ironic, given

that it did not last the night once the Bolsheviks seized state power!

So asking us to read it and support Marxism is a bit like Tony Blair

saying we should vote for him in the next general election as the

invasion of Iraq was not in the Labour Party manifesto! [20]

The Bolshevik Revolution started to degenerate from the start. Once

power was seized by the Bolshevik Party, they turned authoritarian to

maintain their position. Their secret police (the Cheka) was used to

attack anarchists across the country. The Bolsheviks gerrymandered

soviets and disbanded any they lost elections to. They undermined the

factory committees, stopping them federating and basically handed the

factories to the state bureaucracy. Lenin argued for and implemented

one-man management, piecework, Taylorism and other things Stalinism is

condemned for. In the army, Trotsky disbanded the soldier committees and

elected officers by decree. [21]

How Trotsky defended the appointment of officers is significant. He

argued that as the government was elected by the workers, the workers

had nothing to fear from its imposing appointees! He compared to the TU

leadership — you elected the committee, and can replace it. The

committee is “better able to judge in the matter” of appointing people

“than you”! He went on to ponder “how could the soldiers who have just

entered the army choose the chiefs! Have they have any vote to go by?

They have none. And therefore elections are impossible.” If only the

Tsar had thought of that one!

I know what the Marxists here will be thinking. Typical anarchist, not

mentioning the civil war! Where are the Whites? Where are the 14 (or

however many!) imperialist armies of intervention? Why has he not spoken

of the civil war? There is a good reason why I have not mentioned the

civil war: it had not started yet! As these authoritarian actions by the

Bolsheviks occurred before the civil war broke out and so it cannot be

used to excuse the Bolsheviks. Indeed, it could be argued that the civil

war saved the Bolsheviks, as they could argue that the only alternative

to their dictatorship was a White one. In summary, though, the civil war

did not create, but simply increased the authoritarian tendencies of the

Bolsheviks.

Anarchists predicted that the “Dictatorship of the Proletariat” would

simply become the dictatorship of a few party leaders. When we argue

this, Marxists usually call his slanderers. Ironically enough, within a

year of Lenin publishing “State and Revolution” the Bolsheviks had not

only created such a regime, they were arguing that this was what the

“dictatorship of the proletariat” meant! For example, Zinoviev

proclaimed at the Second Congress of the Communist International that ”

the dictatorship of the proletariat is at the same time the dictatorship

of the Communist Party.” Lenin and Trotsky did not disagree, with both

supporting this position to their deaths. [22]

In summary, there is a clear-cut link between what happened under Lenin

and Trotsky and the later practice of Stalinism. This was not a

coincidence. Rather it was a fatal combination of bad politics and

institutional pressures. The Bolshevik vision of workers’ power

destroyed real working class power in society and in the soviets. Its

vision of “socialism” destroyed real socialism at point of production.

[23]

Excuses

Of course most Marxists are aware that something went wrong in the

Russian Revolution, although they disagree about exactly when.

Trotskyists have a few standard explanations of why Bolshevism became

the dictatorship of the party and why Stalinism appeared.

The most common excuse is the civil war against the Whites. However,

undemocratic activities started before it got going so that is factually

wrong. Then there is the fact that, according to Lenin, civil war was an

“inevitable” result of revolution. It is hardly convincing to argue that

everything would have been fine if the inevitable had not happened, yet

this is what the Marxist argument boils down to! [24]

Then there is the argument that “exceptional circumstances” meant that

the Bolsheviks could not be as democratic as they would like. But, yet

again, Lenin again thought that every revolution would face difficult

circumstances. He even admitted that revolution in the west would see

greater destruction and chaos! [25] So arguing that everything would

have been fine if the inevitable had not happened is hardly convincing.

Moreover, given that Trotsky slagged off the anarchists in Spain for

blaming “exceptional circumstances” for their actions, it would be

ironic (to say the least) for Trotskyists to excuse the Bolsheviks in

these terms! [26] Lastly, anarchists find this excuse particularly

unconvincing as the idea that a revolution would face economic

desription was predicted by anarchists like Kropotkin. [27]

Then there is the argument that the Russian working class “disappeared”

or became “declassed,” necessitating Bolshevik party dictatorship. The

problem with this argument is that the Russian workers, although reduced

in number, were still more than capable of taking collective action

throughout the civil war period. As this action was against the

Bolsheviks, it has been written out of history in Marxist accounts of

the revolution. Indeed, strikes against the Bolsheviks took place from

the start, as did repression by the Bolshevik state. Before, during and

after the civil war Russian workers took collective action in defence of

their interests and, moreover, faced martial law, lockouts, mass arrests

of strikers and the imprisonment and shooting of “ringleaders.” This

happened all through the Civil War, which hardly makes sense. After all,

if the working class had “disappeared,” this would not be required! As

such, the Kronstadt revolt cannot be considered as an isolated

occurrence. Lastly, I must stress that this argument was first developed

by Lenin in response to rising working class protest rather than its

lack. [28]

Faced with all this, perhaps a Marxist will reply that Bolshevik

authoritarianism was still a necessity. Anarchists refute such

assertions by pointing to the anarchist influenced Makhnovist movement

in the Ukraine. This movement successfully fought the Whites without

creating or theoretically justifying party dictatorship. They

successfully implemented soviet democracy and working class freedom of

speech, organisation and assembly, advocated workers’ self-management of

production and the army implemented the election of officers. In

summary, the Makhnovists prove that the failure of Bolshevism cannot be

blamed solely on objective factors and that Bolshevik ideology played

its role. They show the importance of politics and structures aimed for

in a revolution. [29]

Anarchism

So Marxism does not work. What is the alternative? Unsurprisingly

enough, it is anarchism!

Anarchists think that power should be in the hands of the masses

themselves. We support direct action and self-management in workplace

and community (”the development and organisation of the social… power of

the working classes,” to use Bakunin’s words). Anarchists aim for people

to control their own struggles and organisations. This requires decision

making from the bottom-up, based on mass assemblies making the

decisions. A federation of workers’ councils/communes would exist to

co-ordinate decisions (based on elected, mandated and recallable

delegates). [30]

Such collective class struggle is the school of anarchism. People learn

through struggle, and anarchists aim to aid that process. It prepares

people to manage their personal and collective interests. It also

creates libertarian social organisation which can resist the state and

capital, win reforms and, ultimately, become the framework of a free

society. As examples, anarchists point to the popular assemblies created

in current revolt in Argentina or during the Great French Revolution and

argue they would form the basis of a federation of revolutionary

communes. In industry, we argue that strike assemblies would be the

means of taking over production, forming the basis of socialisation of

the economy and the abolition of the wages system by self-management.

[31]

The Spanish Revolution

At this point, Marxists usually bring up the Spanish Revolution of 1936.

For them it shows the failure of anarchism, arguing that it decisively

showed that to overthrow the state meant replacing it with a

revolutionary government. By failing to do the latter, the anarchists of

the CNT and FAI betrayed the revolution and doomed it to defeat. [32]

Anarchists, however, are not impressed. For all their talk of

materialism, Marxists fail to mention the objective circumstances facing

the CNT-FAI when they discuss the decisions of Spanish Anarchism. As

such, the critique is pure idealism. Which is ironic, given Trotskyists

on rise of Stalinism! Moreover, given that the CNT did not destroy the

state, nor create a federation of workers’ councils, as anarchism

argues, anarchists wonder how can anarchist theory be blamed? It seems

ironic, to say the least, to complain about the failure of anarchism

when anarchism was not applied! [33]

To understand why the CNT acted as it did, we need to do what Marxists

fail to do, provide some context. The decision to collaborate was

obviously driven by fear of Franco and the concern not to divide the

forces fighting him, plus isolation in Spain.. It was made on the

20^(th) of July in Barcelona, the day after the army had been defeated

and when the situation in the rest of the was unknown. As a 1937 CNT

report put it, the CNT had a “difficult alternative: to completely

destroy the state, to declare war against the Rebels, the government,

foreign capitalists ... or collaborating.” The CNT militants, faced with

this situation, made the wrong decision. However, to ignore this

situation and concentrate on anarchist theory is ridiculous, yet that is

what Marxists tend to do. [34]

Moreover, it is easy to show that it was not anarchist theory which was

to blame. Ignoring the example of the Makhnovists in the Russian

Revolution, we can point to the Spanish revolution itself. Simply put,

the Spanish Anarchists applied anarchist ideas in full in Aragon. There

they created a federation of workers’ associations as argued by

anarchist thinkers from Bakunin onward. To contrast Catalonia and Aragon

shows the weakness of the Marxist argument and, unsurprisingly, Aragon

usually fails to get mentioned by Marxists. [35] The continuity of what

happened in Aragon with the ideas of anarchism and the CNT’s 1936

Zaragoza Resolution on Libertarian Communism is clear. Which shows how

ridiculous the common Marxist claim that anarchist groups like the

“Friends of Durruti” were forced to break with key aspects of anarchist

theory and move toward revolutionary Marxism. [36]

Before ending this subject, I must mention Trotsky’s “alternative” for

the Spanish Revolution. He talked about the “revolutionary party ...

seiz[ing] power.” Which, of course, is hardly an example of “workers’

power”! A few months later, he argued that “because the leaders of the

CNT renounced dictatorship for themselves they left the place open for

the Stalinist dictatorship.” This was part of his argument that the

“revolutionary dictatorship of a proletarian party” being “an objective

necessity.” “The revolutionary party (vanguard),” he stressed, “which

renounces its own dictatorship surrenders the masses to the

counter-revolution.” A position which the Catalan CNT rightly rejected,

but unfortunately they also rejected the anarchist solution! [37]

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would have to say that the fundamental difference

between anarchism and Marxism is that we have radically different

visions of what socialism is and how to get there.

Anarchists reject the Leninist top-down vision of socialism. Our

analysis of the authoritarian nature of Marxism is not hindsight. We

correctly predicted the failures of Marxism long before it was

implemented. As the Russian Revolution proved beyond doubt, in a

conflict between workers’ power and party power Leninists will suppress

the former to ensure the latter.

Anarchism is revolution from a working class perspective. It places

working class power and freedom at its core, both individual and

collective. It aims for the destruction of hierarchical power. We take

“Power to the people” seriously. The power exercised by social elites

must be dissolved into the people otherwise “Power to the people” means

nothing more than power to a few “leaders”, and so class society

continues (as Bolshevism proved).

We have a choice between anarchism, real “socialism from below,” or

Marxism. Between a society based on liberty, equality and solidarity or

one rooted in inequalities of power.

So in answer to the question, “Marxism or Anarchism?” we argue the

answer is Anarchism, if you want to change the world and not just the

bosses!

[1] See H.2.4 Do anarchists think “the state is the main enemy”?

[2] See H.2.2 Do anarchists reject the need for collective working class

struggle? (To be fair, the AWL speaker did not make this claim).

[3] See H.1.4 Do anarchists have “absolutely no idea” of what to put in

place of the state?

[4] See H.2.1 Do anarchists reject defending a revolution?

[5] See H.2.5 Do anarchists think “full blown” socialism will be created

overnight?”

[6] See H.4 Didn’t Engels refute anarchism in “On Authority”?

[7] See H.2.11 Are anarchists “anti-democratic”?

[8] See H.1.2 What are the key differences between Anarchists and

Marxists?

[9] See H.6 Why did the Russian Revolution fail?

[10] See B.2 Why are anarchists against the state?; Appendix 3.4 — 4.

How is the SWP wrong about centralisation?; Appendix 3.4 — 15. Why is

the SWP’s support for centralisation anti-socialist?; I.5.2 Why are

confederations of participatory communities needed?

[11] H.3.7 What is wrong with the Marxist theory of the state?; H.1.3

Why do anarchists wish to abolish the state “overnight”?; H.2.1 Do

anarchists reject defending a revolution?

[12] See H.3.8 What is wrong with the Leninist theory of the state?; On

Trotsky see Appendix 3.1 –15. Did Trotsky keep alive Leninism’s

“democratic essence”?

[13] In fact, it is anarchists who first used the imaginary “from

below.”: H.3.2 Is Marxism “socialism from below”?; Appendix 3.1 — 14.

Why is McNally’s use of the term “socialism from below” dishonest?

[14] See H.3.3 Is Leninism “socialism from below”?

[15] See J.3 What forms of organisation do anarchists build?

[16] See H.5 What is vanguardism and why do anarchists reject it?

[17] See H.5.12 Surely the Russian Revolution proves that vanguard

parties work?

[18] See H.3.12 Is big business the precondition for socialism?; H.3.14

Don’t Marxists believe in workers’ control?

[19] See H.3.1 Do Anarchists and Marxists want the same thing?; Appendix

3.1 — 13. If Marxism is “socialism from below,” why do anarchists reject

it?

[20] See H.1.7 Haven’t you read Lenin’s “State and Revolution”?;

Appendix 3.3 — 12. Would the “workers’ state” really be different, as

Mitchinson claims?

[21] H.6 Why did the Russian Revolution fail?; Appendix 3.2 — 11. Why is

Morrow’s comments against the militarisation of the Militias ironic?;

Appendix 3.2 — 17. Why is Morrow’s support for “proletarian methods of

production” ironic?;

[22] See H.3.8 What is wrong with the Leninist theory of the state?;

H.1.2 What are the key differences between Anarchists and Marxists?

[23] I’m not suggesting that Marxists seek to become a new ruling class.

Far from it. Most members of Marxist parties are honestly in favour of

democracy and socialism. I’m arguing that creating certain forms of

institution will produce specific social relationships which will shape

the people within them and the political ideas they hold and vice versa.

The state is designed for minority power and will reproduce it.

Centralisation of power will result in top-down, bureaucratic practices.

State capitalist institutions and social relations will never produce

socialism. I would also suggest that most Marxists have little real

knowledge of their own movement’s history and what their leaders did

once in power. Being ignorant of history, they will be doomed to repeat

it — particularly if they reproduce similar centralised, top-down

structures as the Bolsheviks did and consider, like them, that they

represent “workers’ power.”

[24] See H.6.1 Can objective factors explain the failure of the Russian

Revolution?; Appendix 4.3 What caused the degeneration of the Russian

Revolution?; Appendix 3.3 — 15. What caused the degeneration of the

Russian Revolution?. Some Marxists argue that civil war existed from the

start, from November 1917. They fail to see that this does them no

favours, as they are implicitly admitting that revolution and working

class democracy are incompatible.

[25] See H.6 Why did the Russian Revolution fail?; Appendix 4.3 — 4 Did

economic collapse and isolation destroy the revolution?

[26] See H.6 Why did the Russian Revolution fail?; Append 4.3 — 2 Can

“objective factors” really explain the failure of Bolshevism?

[27] See H.6.1 Can objective factors explain the failure of the Russian

Revolution?; Appendix 4.3 — 1 Do anarchists ignore the objective factors

facing the Russian revolution?

[28] See H.6.3 Were the Russian workers “declassed” and

“atomised”?;Appendix 4.3 — 5 Was the Russian working class atomised or

“declassed”?; On Kronstadt see at: Appendix 4.2 — What was the Kronstadt

Rebellion?

[29] See Appendix 4.6 Why does the Makhnovist movement show there is an

alternative to Bolshevism?

[30] See Section J – What do anarchists do?

[31] I.2.3 How is the framework of an anarchist society created?

[32] Strangely enough, the AWL speaker failed to mention Spain. On the

Spanish revolution, see A.5.6 Anarchism and the Spanish Revolution ; I.8

Does revolutionary Spain show that libertarian socialism can work in

practice?; for more on the Spanish Anarchist movement see Appendix 3.2 —

Marxists and Spanish Anarchism

[33] See I.8.11 Was the decision to collaborate a product of anarchist

theory, so showing anarchism is flawed?; Appendix 3.2 — 20. Does the

experience of the Spanish Revolution indicate the failure of anarchism

or the failure of anarchists?

[34] See I.8.10 Why did the C.N.T. collaborate with the state?

[35] See I.8.11 Was the decision to collaborate a product of anarchist

theory, so showing anarchism is flawed?

[36] See Appendix 3.2 — 8. Did the Friends of Durruti “break with”

anarchism?

[37] For a discussion on the differences between anarchist and Marxist

visions of how the Spanish Revolution could have developed, see:

Appendix 3.2 — 12. What is ironic about Morrow’s vision of revolution?