Now oline at
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/russia/izvestiia_krons1921.html

         The complete editions in English of
"Izvestiia of the Provisional Revolutionary Committee
of Sailors, Soldiers and Workers of the town of Kronstadt"

In March of 1921 the naval town of Kronstadt, heart of the
1917 revolutions rose against the Bolshevik dictatorship.
Their program is often distorted by Leninist parties
today into one of counter revolution when in reality they
stood in the real tradition of the October revolution. The
rising was brutally crushed.

New to Revolt is an English translation of each of the 14 papers
published by the Provisional Revolutionary Committee elected by
the rebellion. Judge for yourself who the real counter
revolutionaries were, the rebels or Lenin and the
Bolshevik party.

Translation at
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/russia/izvestiia_krons1921.html

it seems it will be no revolution in next 50 years or more.
Unfortunately...

cool Eric

>From: "Erik REZ" <erikrez@...>
>Reply-To: anarchy_history@egroups.com
>To: anarchy_history@egroups.com
>Subject: [anarchy_history] august
>Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 07:02:28 -0000
>
>Big happenings this August!!
>    Go To http://naac.8m.com
>
>

________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

Big happenings this August!!
    Go To http://naac.8m.com

Big happenings this August!!
    Go To http://naac.8m.com

Hello,
I am going to be in Spain this coming Sept. and was wondering if
there are any anarchist related attractions/meuseums that I may be
able to check out.  Especially if there were anything relating to the
CNT FAI history.  Perhaps artifacts or a collection / archive of
photographs etc.  Thank you.

--Paul

Hi All,

I just joined the group.  I was just told about anarchy by someone
from another egroup, and i am interested in learning more about it.
From what was told to me, i think this is my interest.  I have never
belonged to any organized religious or political group, i never
seemed to fit.  The definition of anarchy was explained to me and
seemed like my same views.  Anyway, i think i would like to learn as
much as possible, so I will just sit back and soak up anything that
you have to share!  I might have some questions, so please be patient
with me!  Thank you, Love and Peace, Janet

*************************************************
From Ainriail - the Irish Anarchist bulletin list
*************************************************

Review: The Militias in the Spanish Revolution

The Spanish Civil War by Antony Beevan

Cassell Military Paperbacks. stg£6.99

A SURPRISING BEST SELLER last year was
'Stalingrad' by the same author. His publishers
have obviously re-released this book, first
published in 1982, to cash in on this. As you
might expect, it is primarily a military history
of the Spanish Revolution.

But it is a very welcome break from the normal
pattern of mainstream military histories of the
Spanish Revolution. For the most part these fail
to discuss the revolution within the civil war,
the thousands of collectives or the role of the
anarchists. If they are mentioned, they are
usually portrayed as an obstruction to the
efficient military pursuit of the war by the
republican side.

Beevan's approach is fresh and different. He
understands that much of what made the Spanish
Civil War unique from a military viewpoint was
the revolution that had taken place. Rather than
ignoring the anarchists or treating them as a
minor nuisance he puts them where they belong,
at the heart of the story. So the opening third
of the book concentrates on the politics of
Spain, both before and in the first months of
the war. Beevan shows a surprising understanding
of anarchism, indeed his explanation of
anarchism contains little I could disagree with
and extends well beyond Spain, quoting the
Italian revolutionary Errico Malatesta and
referencing the Ukrainian Makhnovists.

Early days

His discussion of the first days of the
revolution, the formation of the militias and
the role they played is excellent. He correctly
attributes the defeat of Franco in half of Spain
as due to the actions of the workers'
organisations and, in particular, the anarchist
CNT. While the government pleaded with the rebel
generals and refused to release arms to the
workers, the CNT broke into gun shops, raided
armouries and then fought and defeated the army.
He points out that in the areas where Franco's
forces seized power they did so precisely
because the local workers' organisations trusted
the local government to control the army or were
unable or unwilling to seize weapons.

In the space of a short review there is no room
for discussing all the key areas in this book
but worth mentioning is his discussion of the
militias and the conventional army. While making
the usual criticism of the militias for lack of
discipline, he points out that this was
inevitable in their rapid formation and was
something the anarchists sought to address. They
were capable of heroic and disciplined fighting,
for instance at Irun where, with their backs to
the border, they fought the fascist advance
house by house until they ran out of ammunition.
The last two major conventional battles of the
war were both fought by anarchist regiments in
the regular army.

As he points out, the Spanish Communist Party
used the fact that Russia was the only major
supplier of weapons to the Republic to deny the
anarchist militias arms. The book really comes
into its strength here, as the military account
of the war shows the impossibility of mounting
offensive operations with severely limited
supplies against a well dug in and trained
enemy, which enjoyed massive superiority in
artillery and air power.

He discusses the regular army and the
International Brigade. The Communist Party was
able to dominate these and here we see similar
methods of command to those used by Trotsky in
the Russian Civil War. The major emphasis was on
blind obedience to orders, with frequent
executions of those who resisted. Apparently up
to 10% of some International Brigade units were
executed. But beyond this, he also highlights
the complete failure of the offensives mounted
by the regular army.

Lions led by donkeys?

It is this section that is perhaps most
interesting. The strategy of the Communist
dominated army was for conventional mass
assaults in which the best units and equipment
were concentrated against a relatively short
section of the fascist line. These rapidly
ground to a halt as Franco was able to
concentrate huge quantities of artillery and
airpower against them. But because they were
prestige operations for the Communist Party the
offensive was continued, often involving
suicidal frontal assaults like those of WWI in
which huge quantities of men and equipment were
sacrificed for a few yards with no real
strategic value.

There is much else in this book of value to
anarchists, in particular his revelations of how
the British government actually aided Franco. He
also outlines an alternative strategy for
fighting the war, based on using conventional
military methods for defence but attacking with
large scale guerrilla offensives. He also
discusses the role of Spanish republicans in the
French resistance during WWII and the guerrilla
warfare conducted against Franco into the
1960's. This is a book well worth buying!

Andrew Flood

This article from Workers Solidarity No59
Published Spring 2000


More articles at
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/ws2000.html

-----------------
Visit our web site at
http://surf.to/anarchism

Email us at wsm_ireland@...

Subscribe to the low volume Irish anarchist
mailing list by mailing lists@...
with the message subscribe ainriail


*********************************************
From Ainriail - For more info see
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/inter/email_lists.html

*************************************************
From Ainriail - the Irish Anarchist bulletin list
*************************************************

Anarchism, militarism and civil war

Can you have an anarchist army?

AS ANARCHISTS believe the bosses will resist a
revolution, it follows that we accept the need
for armed force to defend the revolution. But
anarchists also oppose militarism, that includes
standing armies controlled by the state with
officers who have special privileges like extra
rations, better quarters, saluting, etc. So what
alternative do anarchists propose?

Anarchists advocate militias where officers are
elected and recallable, and discipline is agreed
by all in the unit. This is not simply a theory
but has been put into practice by anarchists in
the course of several revolutions. The Russian
revolution saw an anarchist influenced force,
the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army - also
known as the Makhnovista - who liberated the
Eastern Ukraine. They provide one such example.

In his article (opposite) 'The Two Octobers',
the Russian anarchist Piotr Arshinov describes
how in April of 1917 "big rural landowners began
everywhere to evacuate the countryside, fleeing
from the insurgent peasantry and seeking
protection for their possessions". Through
direct action "the agrarian question was
virtually solved by the poor peasants as early
as June - September 1917". As the landlords fled
the peasants took over the land and "all of
revolutionary Russia was covered with a vast
network of workers' and peasant soviets, which
began to function as organs of self-management".

The decrees passed by the Bolshevik government
in the months after October 'legalised' these
takeovers. This was part of the process by which
the Bolsheviks got rid of the power of
independent organs of workers' self-management
like the Soviets (elected workers' councils) and
the Factory Committees. 'Legalising' what the
workers had already achieved was one way of
promoting the right of the central state to have
the final say over the working class.

The Bolshevik attitude towards the working class
is perhaps best demonstrated by Trotsky's speech
to the 1920 9th Party Congress when he declared
"The working class cannot be left wandering all
over Russia. They must be thrown here and there,
appointed, commanded, just like soldiers".
"Compulsion of labour will reach the highest
degree of intensity during the transition from
capitalism to socialism". "Deserters from labour
ought to be formed into punitive battalions or
put into concentration camps".

These quotes demonstrate the thinking when the
Bolsheviks dissolved Soviets, broke up factory
committees or jailed and even executed strikers.
But if this is how they saw the worker in the
factory, how about the 'worker in uniform' in
the Red Army?

In 1917 the Czarist Army had fallen apart. Far
from the army opposing the revolution, military
units were often at the heart of its defence.
Not of course the officers, they were for the
most part opposed to the revolution. But in 1917
traditional military discipline had
disintegrated as soldiers deserted the front,
refused to obey orders and elected soldiers'
committees. If the soldiers had obeyed their
officers in October or February then the
revolution would probably have been defeated. So
the ending of top down (or 'bourgeois') military
discipline was essential to the revolution.

This break down of the old discipline may have
been essential to the revolution but once the
Bolsheviks were in power it worked against them.
They didn't want an army where units might
refuse to carry out an order like the crushing
of a peasant rebellion or the breaking up of a
strike. So, in July 1918 Trotsky (the Bolshevik
commander of the Red Army) re-introduced all the
old methods of the bourgeois army. He even re-
appointed old Czarist officers.

Alongside this the death penalty for
disobedience under fire was reintroduced; as
were saluting, special forms of address,
separate living quarters and privileges for
officers. Officers were appointed rather than
elected. Trotsky argued that "the elective basis
is politically pointless and technically
inexpedient and has already been set aside by
decree".

These changes were deeply unpopular to the rank
and file of the army. This, along with the
Bolshevik suppression of the revolution, meant
the Red Army had one of the highest rates of
desertion of any army in history.

Large scale executions and 'Punishment
Battalions' were used to compel soldiers to obey
orders. In addition the Red Army's relationship
with the local peasants and workers was that of
an army of occupation. It seized the supplies it
needed and was often used to put down local
strikes and insurrections.

The revolution in the Ukraine

As elsewhere in rural Russia, the Bolshevik
party had no significant presence in the Eastern
Ukraine before the October revolution.
Nevertheless in this period the peasants and
workers of the towns had seized the land, taken
over the workplaces and set up their own
military units.

The most prominent figure in the regional co-
ordination of all this was the anarchist Nestor
Makhno, who had been released from prison after
the February revolution. Working with anarchists
in the town of Hulyai Pole, he had built links
with the workers, peasants and even the
occupying Serbian soldiers. They confiscated the
landlords' deeds and set up militia units.

Immediately after October these militias left
Hulyai Pole to disarm the Cossacks in nearby
towns, seized the funds of the banks and
distributed them to the peasants. They also
arranged a food for textiles transfer with a
Moscow factory. At this time the first
agricultural communes were set up in the
vicinity of Hulyai Pole.

A bad peace

Then, for the first time, outside intervention
smashed the gains that had been made. The
Bolsheviks signed the treaty of Breast Livtosk,
which amongst other things handed over the
Eastern Ukraine to the Austrian army. The
Austrians put down the revolution, forcing the
insurgents to retreat and conduct a guerrilla
war. This they did with great success and it is
from this period that the army became known as
the Makhnovista.

In the Makhnovista, officers were popularly
selected from the ranks of the revolutionaries.
It was a volunteer army - its shortage was
always of weapons rather than combatants. It
relied on the peasants' solidarity for support,
both in terms of directly providing food and in
directing them to local kulaks (wealthy farmers)
who could stand the loss of "two or three sheep
to make a soup for the insurgents".

It had none of the bourgeois discipline of the
Red Army. The very fact that it was based on
revolutionary spirit instead of fear meant it
was a very effective and innovative fighting
force. One of the Red Army generals who faced it
later wrote "the particular composition of the
army needed a completely trusted, cunning,
experienced and courageous commander, and such
were the Makhnovists".

Finally and most importantly the Makhnovista was
not run by a central government but was
answerable to the local peasants' and workers'
soviets. As such it could never be a tool for
repression in the way the Red Army was.

The Makhnovist army existed until 1921. In this
time, the two largest 'White' (pro-Czarist)
interventions of the Civil War came through the
Eastern Ukraine, those of Generals Wrangel and
Denkin. In both of these cases, the Makhnovists
played a key part in defeating their advances.

Their militia organisation, and innovations like
machines guns mounted on horse drawn carts,
enabled them to avoid the major concentrations
of white troops and smash through the rear of
the the enemy. On one occasion they advanced
over 200 miles in three days. Some historians
believe that without their action Petrograd
would have fallen.

In these struggles they allied with the Red
Army, sometimes technically operating as part of
it. They attempted to reach an agreement whereby
in return for not accepting Red Army deserters
their Soviets would be allowed to function
independently of the Bolshevik state. It appears
that both Lenin and Trotsky toyed with this
idea.

Betrayal

But on all three occasions the alliance ended
when the Whites were defeated and the Bolsheviks
launched surprise attacks on the Makhnoivsts.
Those Makhnovists who were seized were either
executed or imprisoned, the number imprisoned
went into tens of thousands. The same fate
awaited the civilian delegates of the
independent soviets, and at least one anarchist
deported from the USA in 1919 (Bogush) was
executed by the Bolsheviks when he tried to
reach the Makhnovists.

The Makhnovists were finally suppressed after
the Civil War when the Bolsheviks concentrated
huge numbers of troops against them and stepped
up brutal actions against peasants who sheltered
them. This counter insurgency strategy, which
the US later used in Vietnam, succeeded because
of the relatively small size and isolation of
the Eastern Ukraine.

However their existence did demonstrate that an
anarchist organised militia could take on and
defeat larger conventional forces. It was
perhaps this threat of a good example that was
the major reason why the Bolsheviks went to such
lengths to crush them.

Andrew Flood

Further reading:

Nestor Makhno in the Russian Civil War by Mike
Malet
History of the Makhnovist Movement by Peter
Arshinov

This article from Workers Solidarity No59
Published Spring 2000

Hi folks,

I've just completed adding the text of
a translation of George Fontenis (French) pamphlet
'The revolutionary message of the 'Friends of
Durruti' to the Spanish revolution web page.  This
translation includes large extracts from the
Friends of Durruti's paper 'Amigo del Pubelo'
You can find it at
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/spain/FODtrans/preface.html

Someone might like to do a review of it and
post the review here or to anarchy_history to
start off some discussion

Andrew

Where: Los Angeles California, Staples Center
When: August 14, 2000
Who: Anyone against the current government and capitalism.
-------------------


Anarchist Protest against the Democratic National Convention

"They are not the peoples party, they are in fact the Corporate &
Military party."

Direct Action to take place. Come PREPARED, and in black. Flag
carriers and Vandels will show, so join up.


DISCLAIMER: Any crime committed while wearing a bullet proof vest
becomes a felony! DON'T DO IT! Come with gas masks, googles, low
level home made body armor (if needed). BUT DONT WEAR A VEST!

ANARCHY NOW!



--------JAH (Anarchist-Syndicalist)--------

The following articles from Workers Solidaity No59
which is now online at
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/ws2000.html
are relevant to this list


                   -----
     Workers Solidarity No59 - Spring 2000
  http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/ws2000.html

The Two Octobers by Piotr Archinov

Reprint of the 1926 essay by an anarchist vetarn
of the revolution

Can you have an anarchist army?

AS ANARCHISTS believe the bosses will resist a
revolution, it follows that we accept the need
for armed force to defend the revolution. But
anarchists also oppose militarism


Review: The Spanish Civil War by Antony Beevan

It is a very welcome break from the normal
pattern of mainstream military histories of the
Spanish Revolution. For the most part these fail
to discuss the revolution within the civil war

All articles are on the web at
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/ws2000.html

               -----
The articles listed can be read on the web
page.  If you have restricted web access or
prefer to get them as email then join the Irish
anarchist bulletin mailing list by emailing
lists@... with the message subscribe
ainriail..  The Ainriail mailing list carries
the latest news from the WSM and the struggles
we are involved in. But there are never more
then 10 posts a week (and normally only 2-4).


<-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><->

>From Irelands's Workers Solidarity Movement
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/wsm.html

Read the International Anarchist Platform
and subscribe to the AP list
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/platform.html

----- Original Message -----
From: Julien Pierrehumbert <julp@...>
To: <anarchy_history@egroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2000 8:55 AM
Subject: Re: [anarchy_history] Introduction


> > Spain is a particular interest of mine. I can recommend some good books
on
> >the Revolution. I have also done substantial reading on Russia after the
> >Bolsehvik coup.
>
> Tony, don't boast and post the goodies instead!


     Actually, there is more to the question than one might think.  There are
many different aspects of the Spanish Revolution, some maybe of more
interest than others. If you want a really good overview of the Revolution
itself, one of the best books is "The Revolution and Civil War in Spain" by
Pierre Broue and Emile Temime. Notice the perceptive title of the
book"..Revolution and Civil War.." given that both were going on at the same
time, interrelated, no doubt, but separate also.

  A  very sharp and critical look at the decision to join the Catalan
government by the anarchists leadership is "Lessons of The Spanish
Revolution" by Vernon Richards. This book is essential reading if one wants
to get a full understanding of all the diverse forces at work.

  The best book on the methods and extent of the Communist efforts to destroy
the revolution is by far "The Grand Camouflage" by Burnett Bolloten.
Incredible book.

That should be enough to get you started on Spain.

   For Russia, some of the best books were written by anarchist themselves.
Voline's "The Unknown Revolution" is very long but very good. It is a little
pretentious at times. He claims that he was the one who thought of the
concept "Soviet," which literally means council.

   Maximov's "The Guillotine at Work" is also excellent. Both of these books
are available from AK Press.

  Some of the more common books on Russia are by the great historian Paul
Avrich. I have read his "The Anarchists in the Russian Revolution", "The
Russian Anarchists" and "Kronstadt 1921." All of these books are excellent
and well worth reading.

   Also worth ones efforts is "The Russian Tragedy" by Alexander Berkman.
This is a fantastic first hand account of the methods used by the Bolsheviks
to wipe out dissent and independence  and establish their iron clad grasp on
all political action.

   There is more, but that's enough for now, I would think.-Tony
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Good friends, school spirit, hair-dos you'd like to forget.
> Classmates.com has them all. And with 4.4 million alumni already
> registered, there's a good chance you'll find your friends here:
> http://click.egroups.com/1/2885/5/_/580690/_/956764578/
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *****************************************
> From the anarchist history list see
> http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/history.html
>
>

> Spain is a particular interest of mine. I can recommend some good books on
>the Revolution. I have also done substantial reading on Russia after the
>Bolsehvik coup.

Tony, don't boast and post the goodies instead!

Hi Sarah & other list members,
A round of introductions may be a good idea.
I'm a collectivist anarchist in my mid 40's who has been active in the
anarchist movement for the last 25 years in Australia. Over that time my
main anarchist activity has been as part of literature distribution
through various anarchist bookshop/infoshop collectives. I have also
been a member of the IWW here in oz, and have been active on and off in
various workplace struggles. (including doing the War on the Wharfies
solidarity website in 1998) I have also had a long term involvement in
the anti-uranium/ anti-nuclear and environmental movements.

When I joined the anarchist movement in the mid 1970's it was just
coming out of a quiet period in Australia. Disseminating information
about anarchism and anarchist practice was a priority - hence my
activity with anarchist book collectives. Similarly, much of the
history of anarchism in Australia had been forgotten. Many of the
participants in the IWW and groups from early this century were dead or
were no longer involved to pass on their experiences. There had been
active migrant anarchist groups - particularly Spanish, Italian and
Bulgarians - but there was little communication with the anglo speaking
anarchists.

Through the eighties some of the forgotten history of anarchism in
Australia - from the 1880's onwards - was researched by Bob James. One
of my projects over the last two years has been to publish some of the
history of anarchism in Australia on my history site. Bob James has
increasingly been questioning the ideological basis of traditional
Labour Historians. His articles will be of interest to anyone
researching the Labour movement and anarchism in the English
speaking world.

The celebration of the centenary of anarchist organisation in Australia
on May 1 1986 also increased interest and awareness in the history of
anarchism in Australia.

I now feel that history is very important. It gives you a sense of place
and direction, and the theoretical knowledge of past struggles. I try
not to be sectarian on my site - the experiences of working people in
struggle are relevant whether they call themselves 'anarchist',
'communist', 'trotskyist', 'syndicalist' or 'Odd Fellow'. There may be a
difference in organisation, strategy and tactics, but it is part of a
radical tradition. In every social justice campaign you will find some
libertarian elements. Campaigns run or influenced by 'communists' in
Australia have often used anarchist 'direct action' tactics - eg free
speech fights in the thirties, the anti-eviction struggles and the
Unemployed Workers Movement in the 30's,  the democratisation and
militant stance of the New South Wales Builders Labourers Federation in
the 1960's and 70's to name but a few. On my history site I try to
emphasise the anarchist tradition as part of the broader
radical/socialist tradition - to draw forth some of the libertarian
elements in Australian History.

This rave appeared in a slightly different form on the Research on
Anarchism List in April 1999:
****** THE EXCLUSION OF ANARCHISM FROM AUSTRALIAN LABOUR HISTORY
******

Anarchism has been written out of sanitised Labour History. I am sure
this is the case to some extent all over the English speaking world, and
I am certain of the case for Australia.

Anarchist ideas (co-operation, decentralisation, mutualism) were
reasonably widespread in the Labour movement in the 1880s and 1890s in
Australia. Here in Australia, the reporting of  the Haymarket bombing in
1886 was a pivotal event. It was used to discredit anarchism and
anarchists by the capitalist media. Attempts were even made to provoke
'dynamite conspiracies' to whip up hysteria against anarchists and
anarchism.

The 1890's also saw State Socialists taking over radical organisations
and forming social democratic (parliamentarist) organisations. The
defeat of workers in the great strikes of the 1890s resulted in union
leaders effectively turning
towards a parliamentarist model to achieve change. Within 10 years
'Labor' parties were achieving Government, which served to sublimate
revolutionary activity.

Many labour activists left Australia in 1893-94 for William Lane's 'New
Australia' Colony in Paraguay. The idealism of this new colony was soon
shattered by the authoritarian rule of William Lane.

This explains the Australian labour movement's reliance on the social
democratic tradition in the first decade of the 20th century. However,
the growth of the IWW in the second decade indicates there was still
strong 'direct actionist' and anarchist tendencies in the labour
movement.

The success of the Russian Revolution and the formation of the Communist
Party of Australia provided a 'radical' but statist alternative to the
Labor party and the social democratic tradition. Anti-statist radicalism
was ignored and its influence in the labour movement  declined over the
following two decades.

Now why has the influence of anarchism been, essentially, excluded from
official 'Labour History' in Australia?

  I think there are a number of reasons. For most historians so used to
the existence and importance of the State they are blinkered against
seeing anarchist or anti-statist activity, or to interpret it as
unorganised or unimportant activity.

Secondly, many Labour Historians see themselves on the Left (read 'State
Socialist') and so have a vested interest in not writing our history.

Thirdly, over the decades the anarchist influences have been steadily
ignored in labour histories to an extent where now historians have a
vested interest in defending the statist and union history traditions,
which works to the exclusion of anything which doesn't fit the existing
model. Anarchists have been excluded, but so have alot of other
organisations and people who don't fit the 'statist' or 'union'
model within the context of the labour movement. This includes
worker cooperative movements (housing,production,consumption, etc),
Lodges and Friendly societies, unemployed organisations, women's
organisations, social and religious societies. All these participated
in the wider labour movement, but have essentially been excluded
from the mainstream of  'Labour History'.

How do we change this?
1. I see information as very important - hence I have devoted much of my
activism to the dissemination of information, through working in
anarchist collective bookshops over the last 25 years, and now
on the Internet with my Radical Tradition Website.
2. I am not a proffessional historian, but there is also a need for
people to publish and publicize this material.
3. If you have the skills and the time, do some reserach to rediscover
some of our history, and its place within the labour movement.
This may mean challenging other Labour Historians when they get it
wrong, or you disagree with their interpretation. Often its a matter
of just researching and writing the history, which noone else has
seen as important. Going back to original sources and correcting
the inaccuracies and misrepresentations.

             ********************************

How do others interpret the treatment of anarchism by
'Labour Historians' and do we need to change the situation,
and if so, how?
Look forward to lots of comments..... ;-)

In solidarity
--
Takver
  Takver's Soapbox:
    http://www.users.bigpond.com/Takver/soapbox/index.htm
  Radical Tradition, an Australasian History Page
    http://members.xoom.com/takver/history/index.htm
  Visit Anarres Books
    http://www.anarres.org.au

----- Original Message -----
From: Sara Smith <duchamp@...>
To: <anarchy_history@egroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2000 10:19 PM
Subject: [anarchy_history] Introduction


> >
> > World. I'm very interested in learning more about anarchist history in
> different countries, though, such as the role of anarchists in the Spanish
> Civil War

    Sara,

    I am also on too many list for me to keep up with. I didin't even know I
was on this one until I received your post! I guess this isn't the list run
by ben? I don't really know.

   Spain is a particular interest of mine. I can recommend some good books on
the Revolution. I have also done substantial reading on Russia after the
Bolsehvik coup. It's a very interesting story that can really help one
understand anarchism, Bolshevism, centralized control etc.-Tony

>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Why buy CDs? Now you can swap for them. At Switchouse.com, you can
> choose from over 300,000 titles of every kind of music. Top 20 hits,
> R&B, hardcore, whatever. Get the music. Forget the money. Sound good?
> http://click.egroups.com/1/3717/5/_/580690/_/956726617/
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *****************************************
> From the anarchist history list see
> http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/history.html
>
>

Hi all,

	 I'm on several listservs, but this one is the one I hoped would interest
me the most, since my main interests are labor history and the history of
social movements. Since there has been absolutely no traffic on this list
since I joined it, I thought I'd attempt to get some started. I'll give a
brief introduction of myself.

My name is Sara Smith, I'm 20 years old, and I live in Los Angeles,
California. I go to a community college and my major is history. I'd
definitely describe myself as an anarcho-syndicalist. I became interested
in anarchist history from mainly reading about anarchists' role in U.S.
labor history - from the Haymarket affair to the Industrial Workers of the
World. I'm very interested in learning more about anarchist history in
different countries, though, such as the role of anarchists in the Spanish
Civil War and the Syndicalist movement in France. Beyond the things I've
mentioned here, my knowledge of other anarchist movements in other
countries is pathetically limited. I was hoping I'd learn more from being
on this list...

Well, I guess that's all I'll write for now. Maybe it was enough to get
something started.

In Solidarity,

Sara

I was wondering on the connections between anarchism, christianism (not the
church!), and gnosticism...

I know that there were vague connections in the past (the diggers, the quakers,
Tolstoy, etc.) but one could argue that it's due to the cultural hegemony of
christianism rather than an intrinsic connection. Does someone have a clue as to
the bottomline?

As far as gnosticism (& similar dualistic stuff) is concerned, I was struck
today by
the fact that anarchism also talks about something "evil" at work in the
world. Of course, anarchism is different in that it says that the world can be
reformed from the inside :-). Does someone know something concrete to
substantiate such a connection? Of course, historically, the cathars were a
movement opposed to the linkage of the church and power, the formation of the
state, etc. but I was wondering about something closer to us.

Bye and sorry for my bad english!

To start out: Sorry if you received this message multiple times; in an
attempt to get enough response, I may have gone a bit overboard with the
amount of mailing lists that this is being sent to.

That out of the way: For my World Cultures class we need to do a project (a
variety of mediums are offered, but it should have information equivalent to
that of at least a 5 page essay) in which we design an ideal society; the
project is to be the mid-term for the class and is some obscene amount of
your final grade. I, of course, decided immediately upon an anarchy-based
society.  I'm leaning towards anarcho-communism, but am open to suggestions.
I need to have an immensely detailed idea of the political, economical,
environmental, religious, and social aspects of the society included in my
report.

And I'm sending this to you because: I need sources; particularly ones with
rather detailed information on anarcho-communism or anarchism in general.
Web pages are easiest for me, but I'm sure my teachers will demand at least
a few real books be included in my research.

Also, input from you would be greatly appreciated.  What would we do with
criminals? I really like the 'rehab, not punishment' idea, but what about
repeat offenders and suchlike?  I also believe in community (not personal)
ownership, but what of objects that hold sentimental value?  For the
religious aspect, I will, of course, have complete freedom of religion with
a precedent against any preaching or conversion attempts, but I need to
describe the religious breakdown.  I'm thinking a largely agnostic and weak
atheist (a weak atheist lacks belief in god, whereas a strong atheist
believes that there can not be a god; the difference, my friends, is in the
details) society, where everyone keeps an open mind and very few people
submit to the comforts of being told what to believe.  But I'm not very
educated in the belief structures out there; I'd appreciate if anyone would
educate me on other all-accepting, non-dogmatic (dogmatic being
characterized by taking an unproven or unprovable concept and stating it as
absolute truth) belief structures that might offer more moral guidance than
a lack of any real religion whatsoever.   How do you propose we deal with
waste? What about producing enough vegan meals/products to support the
masses?  I intend, also, to make the society largely pacifist and as
non-violent as possible, but we still will need to retain weapons in case of
an attack from the outside; how will we manage this?  I will probably
propose that this society encompasses the entire globe, but I would like to
have all bases covered.

And of course, for your pleasure, I will post the entire completed project
along with the complete bibliography on the internet when I am done.  For
those of the mailing lists that probably get requests like this quite often,
I will compile a list of sources and post it somewhere as a one-URL reply to
any further messages of this type.

Either post your responses here, or (as some list moderators might prefer)
mail me separately at tetto@... .

rafter

Hi folks,

I've added two new books to my Spanish revolution
page at
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/spaindx.html

i'm working on a site on swedish libertarian socialism, and searching
for eletronic texts in english about the history of the movement.. would
anyone happen to sit on anything they might think useful?

black&red regards
mikael altemark
--
icq: #26612458
web: http://hem.passagen.se/cyberc/

I TAKE MY DESIRES FOR REALITY BECAUSE
I BELIEVE IN THE REALITY OF MY DESIRES

I have loaded up to Radical Tradition  articles by Dick Curlewis on
the 1990 Melbourne Tram Dispute and lockout. I also wrote an
introduction which gives a (too brief) history of Sparks, a rank and
file journal published by the Public Transport Workers Association,
an affiliate of the Anarcho Syndicalist Federation.
http://members.xoom.com/takver/history/index.htm

My thanks to the Melbourne Anarcho Syndicalist Group, who organised a
meeting on 22 January to discuss the history of Sparks and the 1990
dispute. This was the 10th anniversary of the dispute.

--
Takver
  Takver's Soapbox:
    http://www.users.bigpond.com/Takver/soapbox/index.htm
  War on the Wharfies - Radical Tradition, an Aussie History Page
    http://members.xoom.com/takver/history/index.htm
  Visit Anarres Books
    http://www.anarres.org.au

hi!

i'm polish student writing a paper on polish anarchism in this period.
do you know about any international contacts between Anarchist
Federation of Poland (Anarchistyczna Federacja Polski) and other
anarchist groups inside/outside the IWA/FAI?

do you have any idea, where should i look for such informations?

regards,

a.zandberg.

BIBLIOTECA SOCIAL RECONSTRUIR IN DANGER OF CLOSING ITS DOORS

The Biblioteca Social Reconstruir (The Library of Social Reconstruction),
is an anarchist space located in downtown Mexico City.  The Biblioteca
Social Reconstruir first began in 1978.

The library currently contains 3,000 books, of which approximately 850 are
anarchist.  Some are extremely old, such as La Pornocracia by Proudhon,
edited in Spain in 1892.  We also have 4,700 magazines, some very old and
important such as the historic "Revista Blanca." The library also holds
dozens of magazines edited during the Spanish Revolution of 1936, as well
as important Mexican anarchist publications.  Hundreds of newspapers are
still in the process of being classified, including issue #13 of
Regeneracion, edited by the Flores Magon brothers [Anarchists and heroes of
the Mexican Revolution], published November 7, 1900.

The Biblioteca Social Reconstruir is visited by investigators researching
books, students researching thesis topics, professors, etc., but it is
mainly frequented by liberationist youth [many of them punks and other
working class kids] that look to the library for inspiration and knowledge
in the quest for freedom and justice for all.

The BSR is also a meeting point for liberationist men and women from Mexico
and many other parts of the world.

The BSR is the fruit of the labor of old friends who are no longer with us
today.  We were supported by the bibliographic funds of Marcos Alcon,
Ignacio Portilla, Benjamin Cano Ruiz, Eliseo Rojas and Ricardo Mestre Ventura.

SOLIDARITY PETITION.

The Biblioteca Social Reconstruir is facing a very difficult economic
situation, the high costs of rent, telephone, electricity, Internet
service, correspondence (we receive about 50 letters a month), etc.  We
have been hit with an economic situation so extreme that if we do not
receive financial help from friends who are able to collaborate, it is very
likely that this liberationist center will close its doors forever.

If the Biblioteca Social Reconstruir is unable to finance its costs, it
will mean closing what has been perhaps the most important center in Mexico
for the dissemination of anarchist ideas during the last 22 years, during
which the center has slowly built on its modest roots.

The BSR is part of Mexico's anarchist community and its loss would mean a
defeat and a setback for the organized movement--a defeat and a loss that
we do not know if we could recover from.

It is for these reasons that we appeal to your solidarity, so that the
library can continue to be one of the points of contact for anarchy in
Mexico.  So that this project continues to carry out its principal task:
the sowing of ideas.


IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHOW YOUR SOLIDARITY,
PLEASE FILL OUT THE FOLLOWING FORM:

I commit to helping support the Biblioteca Social Reconstruir:

   Collectively ____________    Individually _____________

Amount: ________________

Type of support:

   Monthly _______ Quarterly ______ Annually ______

For the space of:

   6 months __________   One Year __________  Two Years ___________

I will deposit the amount in the library's bank account _________
I will send the amount in cash [not recommended] _______________
I will send the amount via check or money order ________________

[Support from abroad may require special arrangements to successful
transfer funds.  Please write and we will investigate your case.]

Address, telephone number, and e-mail (if available) of the collective or
individual:

______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________


If you have any questions, please write us and we will respond immediately.

Thank you for any and all support.

BIBLIOTECA SOCIAL RECONSTRUIR
MORELOS 45 DESPACHO 206 COL. CENTRO
libertad@...
www.libertad.org.mx
A.P. 9090   C.P. 06002   MEXICO 1 D.F.
TEL-FAX 55-12-08-86



Signup for your FREE ZenSearch E-MAIL account at http://www.zensearch.net and
win a Notebook PC

The Radical Tradition site has been restructured and includes several
new items:
Foremost of these new items are essays by Bob James on Labour History.
The essays raise questions on the focus of Labour History, and the
writing of history to eliminate people and organisations which don't fit
in to the official 'Labour History' model.
Although the focus of research is Australian based, the arguments draw
on much material from Britain and North America, and from Europe. Bob
argues that anarchists, women, and a whole range of working peoples
organisations have been effectively ignored in the writing of Labour
History.

Recent additions to the site include:
            Secret Societies and the Labour Movement....Bob James
            The Knights of Labour and their context....Bob James
            Display of Secret Society Paraphenalia....Labour History
Conference, Wollongong, October 1999
            Seachange: An essay on Maritime History....Rowan Cahill
            The Tragedy of Labour History in Australia.....Bob James
            Chrysler Factory at Tonsley Park (Adelaide) 1976-1978...
'Anatomy of an Industrial Struggle' by Garry Hill
            Anarchism in Sydney 1975-1981' Reprint of John Englart's 'A
Short History of recent Sydney and Australian Anarchism'

Visit the site at:
    http://members.xoom.com/takver/history/index.htm
Through studying the lessons of the past, Radical Tradition works for
the creation of social and political structures which allow all people equal
decision
making power and equal access to society's wealth.
--
Takver
  Takver's Soapbox:
    http://www.users.bigpond.com/Takver/soapbox/index.htm
  War on the Wharfies - Radical Tradition, an Aussie History Page
    http://members.xoom.com/takver/history/index.htm
  Visit Anarres Books
    http://www.anarres.org.au

1974 - 25th anniversary of Portugal's revolution - 1999

A revolution they never told you about in school

ON APRIL 25TH 1974 a radical faction within the
Portuguese Armed Forces, the MFA, revolted
against the government. Until that day Portugal
had been under a fascist dictatorship for over
half a century. Whether the MFA was left or
right wing inclined was unclear at the time. The
military revolt created a space where people
could effect change in their lives and the
opportunity was grasped eagerly.

Left-wing activists began returning from exile,
and new political parties sprouted up. The
parties all used the situation to gain political
power in the government. Ordinary folk, in
contrast, used the situation to improve social
conditions in their communities and workplaces
through new autonomous organisations. It was
here that the true revolution was fought and is
of most interest to anarchists.

Workers' Struggles

Portugal was the most underdeveloped country in
Europe. At the time 400,000 people were
unemployed. 150,000 people lived in shanty
towns, one million had emigrated and infant
mortality was nearly 8.5%. After the revolution
workers immediately began struggling against the
harsh economic conditions. Strikes had been met
by brutal force under the fascist regime but
lack of experience proved no deterrent to the
Portuguese working class. During the summer of
1974 over 400 companies registered disputes.

One of the most significant of the strikes was
within TAP, the semi-state airline. It showed
whose side the supposedly radical government was
on. TAP workers had a history of militancy. In
1973 three workers had been murdered by the
paramilitary police force during a strike.

On May 2, 1974 an assembly of TAP workers
demanded the purging of all fascists in the
company and the election of union
representatives to the administration council Ð
which was in effect a council for the bosses.
When it was discovered that some of the
representatives had raised their salaries the
union came under a lot of criticism. In August
an assembly of maintenance workers reduced their
44-hour week to 40 hours by refusing to work the
extra four hours.

Another assembly, held without union officials,
drew up a list of demands including the purging
of staff who showed "anti-working class
attitudes", wage increases and the right to
reconsider collective contracts whenever the
workers pleased. The demands were not accepted
by the government, so in response the workers
declared a strike, elected a strike committee
and posted pickets. All international flights
were halted. The new Minister for Labour, a
Communist Party member, called on the workers to
resume work while CP rank and filers opposed the
strike within TAP.

The TAP workers stood fast and eventually the
government sent the military to occupy the
airport and arrest the strike committee. Two
hundred workers were sacked but were reinstated
after mass demonstrations and threats of further
strikes. The 40-hour week was gradually
introduced. The first provisional government
introduced anti-strike laws around this time.

This government was a coalition that included
the Socialist Party and the Communist Party. The
TAP strike was the first large-scale strike
after April 25th and the government's response
was an indicator of how any of the 'post-
fascist' governments would treat workers
struggles. The working class however was
unperturbed by this. In October another 400
companies registered disturbances.

The trade unions were relics of the fascist era
and were considered treactionary by many.
Workers found the need for more democratic and
independent ways of organising. It had become
common for assemblies of workers to elect
delegates to the committees. These committees
were normally elected annually and were subject
to recall. Though most of them were not
revolutionary they were an expression of
people's distrust of the 'left parties', the
government and the military. By the end of
October 1974 there was about 2,000 of these
committees.

In the summer of 1975 the movement began to
develop further. Frequently, when demands were
ignored by management, workers would occupy
their places of employment and in many cases set
up systems of self-management. Anywhere from a
dozen to several hundred workers would take to
running the businesses themselves. In Unhais de
Serra 1,100 textile workers rid themselves of
the management and elected a workers' committee
to run the factory.

It is estimated that about 380 factories self-
managed and 500 co-ops were in operation by the
summer of 1975. Like the workers' councils, the
co-ops were not revolutionary. They still had to
contend with the constraints of capitalism. They
had to make a profit and members received
different wages. Despite many co-ops being able
to reduce the prices for goods or services, this
inevitably led to competition between different
co-ops.

Amidst the growing culture of self-management
the Proletarian Revolutionary Party started a
campaign to launch workers' councils. Delegates
from major industries, and soldiers' and
sailors' committees, met with a large contingent
of PRP members. The idea was to have councils
based on workplace, boroughs and barracks; and
from these local, regional and then a national
council would be elected.

It sounded good, sadly the PRP were more
concerned with creating bodies they could
dominate rather than councils capable of
representing the working class. "Working class
parties" were invited to join. This showed their
very limited idea of what workers are capable
of.

Giving places to political parties as well as to
directly elected workers' delegates not only
diluted democracy but also implied the 'need'
for some sort of elite to lead the masses. If
the self-proclaimed 'revolutionary parties'
could not win enough support to get their
members chosen as delegates by their workmates,
they were to get seats as of right just because
they called themselves "workers parties". A
strange notion of democracy!

Housing Struggles

After April 25th people began occupying empty
property, unwilling to wait for governmental
action. The government, afraid of people's
anger, decreed a rent freeze and allocated money
and tax exemptions to builders. The increase in
homes built was inadequate and more and more
people occupied empty buildings. 260 families
from a shantytown in Lisbon moved into an empty
apartment block near the city. The military
ordered them out but were forced to back down
when the families refused.

In response to the housing crisis people began
to organise collectively. In older working class
and lower middle class areas Autonomous
Revolutionary Neighbourhood Committees were set
up. The committees were elected from general
assemblies of local residents. They arranged
occupations of property for use as free crËches,
workers' centres and for other community
services.

In Lisbon one local Neighbourhood Committee
organised for some 400 empty houses to be taken
over. A "social rent" was paid that went towards
improvements. Another organisation set up was
the Federation of Shanty Town Committees. It was
independent of political parties and came to
represent 150,000 shantytown dwellers. It called
for new housing estates to be built in place of
the shantytowns, for expropriation of land and
for rent controls.

The housing organisations faced some of the same
problems experienced by the workers'
organisations. Neighbourhood and shanty town
committee meetings were seen as opportunities
for party building by left parties. Party
members, often times well practised at public
speaking and debating, got elected to key
positions on the committees and then used them
as a platform for their own particular political
propaganda.

A lot ordinary residents stopped attending
meetings when they felt they were dominated by a
particular group. All in all, the "workers
parties" seemed to be more a hindrance than a
help to these committees. By trying to run
things in ways compatible with their ideologies
they stifled the spontaneous organisational
methods of ordinary folk.

Land Occupations

At the same time one third of Portugal's
population worked as agricultural labourers.
They worked for half of the year and were
unemployed for the rest of it. When the rural
workers saw their opportunity for change they
seized it whole-heartedly and began taking over
farms, ranches and unused land. At the beginning
the government rarely intervened.

There was much positive co-operation between
agricultural and industrial workers, and the
various workers' organisations. In Cabanas an
abandoned farm was occupied with the help of a
local neighbourhood committee. Machines were
taken from a nearby factory to help clear the
land. In Santarem a meeting of 354 farm workers
declared that a massive amount of land was to be
occupied. Other workers, armed with pickaxes,
arrived in trucks to aid the agricultural
labourers and at the end of it over ten major
farms were collectivised.

Socialism seemed natural to the labourers and
there was never talk of dividing up the land.
The land was worked collectively and owned by
the village as a whole. By August 1975 official
statistics reported that over 330 different land
collectives were in operation

All these struggles happened against a backdrop
of six provisional governments, a few coup
attempts and rumours of NATO and right-wing
conspiracies. Where the Armed Forces had created
a space for radical social development by
workers it quickly reinvaded the space with
programs for government and the economy that had
little to do with the revolution. Any
independent initiatives were generally stifled
by the left and centre "workers parties".

The capitalist system itself was never truly
tackled en masse and co-ops, collectives and
workers' committees had to negotiate on
capitalist terms for the price of their labour.
Even the workers' committees were little more
than workers' self-management of their own
exploitation. One Trotskyist paper blamed the
lack of revolutionary progress on the fact that
there was not a "workers party". In fact there
were at least fifteen!

Uisce


<-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><->
This article is from Workers Solidarity No 58
published in Oct 1999

More articles from this issue at
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/ws99.html

>>From Irelands's Workers Solidarity Movement
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/wsm.html

*************************************************
From Ainriail - the Irish Anarchist bulletin list
*************************************************

    Anarchism in the Land of the Rising Sun
            (and falling Yen)

TODAY JAPAN BRINGS to mind high tech
corporations, stressed out primary school
students and a gruelling work ethic that demands
loyalty to the company. One hundred and thirty
years ago it was a very different place,
predominantly agricultural and ruled over by a
fuedal elite. In 1868, these rulers decided to
industrialise the country and create a highly
centralised state. For this reason, the Japanese
experience of capitalism is different from that
in many European countries.

Here, aristocrats were replaced (either
gradually or by revolution) by a rising class of
businessmen. There, the aristocrats became the
new businessmen. The culture of feudalism wasn't
rejected and replaced, rather it was remained
and provided the background to the new society.
This meant that Japan at the turn of the century
was a country that was becoming more industrial
and yet remained extremely conformist. It was in
these difficult conditions that anarchism ideas
first took hold in Japan.

The movement was to be dramatically influenced
by the world wars in which Japan played a
leading part. Three phases are evident: from
1906-1911, from 1911-1936, from 1944-present
day.

Ideas have to come from somewhere. In Japan
anarchist ideas were first popularised by Kotoku
Shusui. Born in a provincial town in 1871, he
moved to Tokyo in his teens. His political ideas
developed on the pages of a number of papers he
wrote and edited. Though these early newspapers
weren't anarchist, they were liberal enough to
bring him to the notice of the authorities. He
was imprisoned in 1904 for breaking one of the
many draconian press laws. As it is for many,
prison was to be his school.

There he read Kropotkin's 'Fields, Factories and
Workshops'. In prison he also began to consider
the role of the Emperor in Japanese society.
Many socialists at the time, avoided criticising
the Emperor, in contrast Kotoku began to see how
the Emperor was at the centre of both capitalism
and the power of the state in Japan.

Following his release from prison he emigrated
to the USA. There he joined the newly formed
Industrial Workers of the World (the IWW, also
known as the Wobblies), a syndicalist trade
union, strongly influenced by anarchist ideas.
In the US he had access to more anarchist
literature, reading Kropotkin's 'The Conquest of
Bread'.

On his returned to Japan in 1906 he spoke to a
large public meeting on the ideas he had
developed while in the US. A number of articles
then followed. "I hope" he wrote "that from now
on the socialist movement will abandon its
commitment to a parliamentary party and will
adapt its method and policy to the direct action
of the workers united as one".

In the following years the anarchist-communists
concentrated on spreading information about
anarchism, through the production of oral and
written propaganda. Although the work they did
was similar to work Irish anarchists do today,
the conditions they had to operate in were very
much more difficult. Faced with continuous
police harassment, some anarchists considered
turning to more violent methods. In 1910 four of
these were arrested following the discovery of
bomb making equipment.

This was the opportunity the authorities were
waiting for to comprehensively clamp down on
dissent. Hundreds were taken into custody.
Finally 26 were brought to trial. Though they
were charged with plotting to kill the emperor,
in reality they were being tried for having
anarchist beliefs. All but two were sentenced to
death. 12 had their sentences commuted to life
imprisonment, and 12, including Kotoku, were
executed. Following his death, many activists
fled into exile. Those that stayed faced
repeated imprisonment.

Yet despite these exceptionally harsh
conditions, the movement did not die. The end of
the First World War brought a period of
spiralling inflation, which led to rice riots in
many towns and cities. The new industrial
workers began to organise and labour disputes
increased. The Russian Revolution caused intense
debate in Japan, as elsewhere; how can we create
a better society? What should that society look
like? This flourishing of opinion was
temporarily dimmed, following the tragic murders
of two anarchists, Osugi Sakae and his partner
Ito Noe.

In 1923, a major earthquake hit Japan. More than
90,000 people died. The state took advantage of
the turmoil and hysteria that followed. The two
anarchists, along with Osugi's six-year-old
nephew were seized by a squad of military police
and beaten to death. The brutality of the murder
compelled some anarchists to seek revenge. Once
again, anarchist attempts at retribution were
met by state repression that struck
indiscriminately.

However, all was not lost. Indeed anarchist
organisations were growing as never before. In
1926 two nationwide federations of anarchists
were formed. The following years were
characterised by intense debate between
anarchist- communists and anarchist
syndicalists. At issue was the central question
as of what was the best method with which to
build towards a revolution. Hand in hand with
their theoretical discussions, these anarchists
were active in struggles over wages and working
conditions.

War however once more loomed on the horizon. As
the state began to move towards external
confrontation with Manchuria, it also began to
silence internal opposition. A new wave of
repression ensued. Although the anarchist
movement adopted many strategies to survive, the
state was determined to succeed. With the
beginning of the Second World War, all anarchist
organisations were forced to shut down. The
anarchists themselves had to maintain a low
profile, hiding their political ideals from
public view.

Post-war, Japan was under the effective rule of
the United States. Their political policy for
the country see-sawed between trying to
artificially create a 'right' and a 'left'
political party, to trying to remove all left
wing influences from politics. Heavy investment
and a rapidly growing economy were accompanied
by a clamp down on trade union autonomy.
Although the anarchists re-grouped and re-
organised, they found it difficult to flourish
in these conditions.

The movement today is much smaller than before,
and from Ireland it is difficult to find much
English language information about them. No
doubt they face many of the same problems that
we do; how to show people that they don't have
to just make do, how to convince people that an
alternative is possible and that they have power
to create it.

Perhaps the economic turmoil that Japan is now
experiencing will lead people to criticise and
reject the current system. If that happens,
hopefully Japanese anarchists will be able
provide a vision of society based on freedom and
equality, begin to rebuild the movement, so once
more anarchist ideas have mass influence.

<-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><-><->
This article is from Workers Solidarity No 58
published in Oct 1999

More articles from this issue at
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/ws99.html

From Irelands's Workers Solidarity Movement
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/wsm.html

This is probably a real basic question, I haven't read much on "Propaganda by
the Deed".

I have a book entitled The Anarchists by Roderick Kedward, part of the
Library of The 20th Century. It has some really interesting illustrations by
Flavio Costantini dealing primarily with Ravachol. Another book, Anarchism by
Richard D. Sonn, has what looks like a charcoal drawing of Ravachol possibly
by the same artist on the cover. I've never been able to find any books about
Ravachol, illustrated or not.

Do you know of any titles, or anything further about the art work described
above?

Regards,
Tim

>i wonder if anyone knows anything or know of sources about workers
>uprisings against the soviet state in the eastern bloc or soviet itself.
>
>i'm specially interested in the events of hungary 1956 and what role
>anarchists and so on played in it

Andy Andersons book 'Hungary 1956' is worth reading.  There are
some articles in the 'Anarchism in Eastern Europe' section of
Revolt that are worth reading.  It's at
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/eastern.html

Andrew

i wonder if anyone knows anything or know of sources about workers
uprisings against the soviet state in the eastern bloc or soviet itself.

i'm specially interested in the events of hungary 1956 and what role
anarchists and so on played in it

black & red regards
altemark