Anarchism

This is such cool community action and decentralisation.

Cross-posted from "If I can’t dance, it’s not my revolution" by @[email protected] in [email protected]

I see tankies keep trying to argue with people about “Actually Existing Socialist” states like USSR and China and try to argue with me or others about how “they were good actually”. It’s bad enough when most of their arguments are whataboutism, but it grinds my gears when I hear then prattle on about all the statistically significant material improvements the life of the people received. It’s like listening to a terminally-liberal prattle on about how “statistically, the life quality actually increased under capitalism”.

Why is this bothering me so much? Because tankies completely suppress the freedom aspects of those states. Sure the improvements in life quality in those nations improved compared to the feudal/agrarian societies they had before, much like liberal capitalism also improved those same metrics.

But the freedom of the populace barely improved improved whatsoever because that freedom is anathema to authoritarian regimes. When anarchists talk about our ideal society, we mean both positive and negative freedom together together. It’s not enough if your health expectancy is increased and infant mortality is reduced, if you have to constantly fear the secret police knocking on your door. It’s not enough to have food on your plate, when the state determines what you can create and where you can work. It’s not enough to get a free car and internet, if your family member got shipped to the concentration camp for criticizing the movement leaders online.

Tankies explicitly avoid this. They are desperate to argue that “authoritarianism is not a thing actually”, hilariously and endlessly promoting the worst socialist essay ever written to justify this. But authoritarianism is very much the crux of the problem here. A society with a hierarchical structure like capitalism or marxism-leninism (i.e. state capitalism) can never be good. It might be better than other states, but it will only get worse and worse as power concentrates to fewer hands and the grip of authority tightens the more control slips through their fingers.

We keep seeing this historically both in liberal and ML states. Clearly material quality of life is not enough to justify the system, or even be stable long-term, when actual human liberty is the sacrifice for it.

I’m looking for news sites that offer anarchist perspectives.

I stumbled upon: https://www.anarchistnews.org/

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/22937320

Peter Kropotkin (1842 - 1921)

Fri Dec 09, 1842

Pyotr Kropotkin, born on this day in 1842, was a Russian scientist, historian, and anarchist theorist, known for his writings on mutual aid and advocacy of anarcho-communism.

Born into an aristocratic land-owning family, he attended a military school and later served as an officer in Siberia, where he participated in several geological expeditions. He was imprisoned for his activism in 1874 and managed to escape two years later. He spent the next 41 years in exile in Switzerland, France (where he was imprisoned for almost four years) and in England.

While in exile, Kropotkin gave lectures and published widely on anarchism and geography. He returned to Russia after the Russian Revolution in 1917 but was disappointed by the Bolshevik state. Kropotkin's funeral was one of the last public demonstrations of anarchists in the USSR, with funeral marchers carrying anti-Bolshevik slogans and Emma Goldman delivering a speech.

Kropotkin was a proponent of a decentralized communist society free from central government and based on voluntary associations of self-governing communities and worker-run enterprises. He wrote many books, pamphlets, and articles, the most prominent being "Fields, Factories and Workshops", "Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution", and "The Conquest of Bread".

"We must recognize, and loudly proclaim, that every one, whatever his grade in the old society, whether strong or weak, capable or incapable, as, before everything, THE RIGHT TO LIVE, and that society is bound to share amongst all, without exception, the means of existence at its disposal."

- Peter Kropotkin

• Date: 1842-12-09
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, libcom.org.
• Tags: #Communism, #Birthdays, #Anarchism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Hi! In the past I've only read some extremely basic theory on anarchism, I haven't really had time to go more in depth, but recently I've had more time on my hands and am looking to get more educated, currently the only books I have on my list are "The Conquest of Bread" and "Anarchy Works", and I'm looking for anything else that I should read.

Audiobooks are also greatly appreciated!

Thank you! I take frequent breaks from social media, so I may not respond in the day, but I do greatly appreciate any recommendations.

Cross-posted from "The taxman always gets their due" by @[email protected] in [email protected]

Author's Note: Initially I was planning to just post it here, but then I though, "hey I have an actual blog for this reason". So anyway, I'm just crossposting here anyway :)

Someone made the comment about the assassination of the United Healthcare CEO and mentioned that the clients to private security forces are going to skyrocket. This is true.

It made me think of how much companies like these have profited from lobbying the government to remove their social contributions (i.e. taxes) while also being directly responsible for destroying those social safeties themselves.

The companies constantly lobby the government to reduce or remove their tax burden while retaining their state protections. But they don’t recognize that the more their actions erode the life of the working class, the more the social contract people accept to not take matters into their own hands is discarded.

As such, you start seeing things like assassinations and kidnappings, which in turn force the rich to use the money they saved by not paying taxes, to pay for private security instead.

This naturally leads to a more and more polarized society where the rich live in increasingly isolated and defended enclaves, while the proles live outside in slums and favelas. Sometimes directly next to each other, as this iconic photos from Sao Paolo exemplifies.

Of course, eventually, the dissolution of the social contract is going to make even this insufficient. More and more wealth will need to be used merely to protect their life and property, once the state has been sufficiently defunded, until at some point, you own private security will be either so powerful as to become a de-facto state, or they will turn themselves against the rich and claim their wealth for themselves.

Under capitalism, the taxman always gets their due.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/22488576

Free Territory of Ukraine (1917)

Tue Nov 27, 1917

Image: Two soldiers next to a Makhnovian flag, reading "Death to all who stand in the way of freedom for working people" in Cyrillic. Unknown date and location [Wikicommons]

Makhnovia, also known as the Free Territory of Ukraine, was an anarchist society established on this day in 1917 with the capture of the Ukrainian city of Huliaipole.

The Free Territory was an attempt to form a stateless anarchist society during the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917 to 1921, during which time "free soviets" and libertarian communes operated under the protection of Nestor Makhno's Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army (flag shown above).

As Makhnovia self-organized along anarchist principles, references to "control" and "government" were highly contentious. For example, the Makhnovists, often cited as a form of government (with Nestor Makhno as their "leader"), were ostensibly organized to serve in a purely military role, with Makhno himself functioning as more of a strategist than commander.

The economy of Makhnovia varied by region, from "market socialism" to anarcho-communism in character. Where money was used, production was often organized in the form of worker cooperatives.

The Bolsheviks were openly hostile to the Free Territory. On November 26th, 1920, less than two weeks after the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army assisted Bolshevik forces in defeating the White Army, Makhno's headquarters staff and many of his subordinate commanders were arrested at a Red Army planning conference to which they had been invited by Moscow, and executed.

Makhno himself fled the region several months later, settling in Paris, France.

• Date: 1917-11-27
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, libcom.org, www.marxists.org.
• Tags: #Anarchism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Crossposting for mutual aid. I'm not the op.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/18893269

I have recently become involved in the "Trans Housing Network" which was started by [email protected]. I am in the midst of restructuring this into a broader "Trans Solidarity Network", a network of mutual aid communities across the United States. Due in large part to a rapidly evolving political situation in the US trans people are going to have to rely more and more on community to provide aid to them. The government of the US cannot be trusted to provide that aid. Trans people in deep red states may need to escape from them, many of whom do not have the resources to do so on their own. Trans people arriving in blue states will need help finding their feet and accessing care in their communities.

In that vein I am interested in building communities of trans people in localities across the US. You do not have to have anything to be a part of a mutual aid organization. Mutual aid means the community coming together and providing for each other. It means support networks without hierarchy, where your action has a direct impact on the lives of others.

Those with means are important here. Cisgender people can also be part of our mutual aid communities. We need people with a spare room, people with cars, people who can invest a few hours of their week checking in on their community members and giving food and emotional support to those that need it. Don't bother if you're close-minded or you're not open to being corrected on transphobic behavior. We are creating these networks to liberate trans people and protect them from violence. It goes without saying that transphobic people are not welcome, and that a level of scrutiny will be applied to new comers.

This whole thing is an entirely new project that I have been working on since the results of the election were declared. I am following principles of mutual organization and assistance. This is not a charity organization by any means. It is a way for trans people and allies to come together in light of extraordinary circumstances and help each other to be safe and healthy and secure.

The plan I have is (eventually) for communities to be relatively cut off from each other, and to be based around region. Right now in our earliest stages people from all over will be brought together, and as numbers grow will be divided into smaller regional groups. Keeping people geographically close to each other in touch and building networks of communication that extend longer distances. Financial contributions would be person to person, not person to entity to person. If you have money and want to contribute the best way to do so is by joining yourself and becoming a part of this network. I do not have interest in making a formal non-profit or charity organization. This is about private individuals helping each other when the government will not help us (or actively tries to harm us). I am looking for ways that international aid can be provided as well. If you live outside the US you can join the broader mutual aid network but what we need most of all is those who can provide direct assistance.

I am also looking for people who have experience with mutual aid, people who have experience with self-hosted technology, and people who are connected with groups on other social media to promote and spread word about this solidarity network. We need diverse skillsets to provide support to those who need it. Nothing is categorically unhelpful in a mutual aid group.

If you are interested in joining my efforts (which are very early on in terms of development) please message me on Matrix @ladyautumn:chat.blahaj.zone or email me at [email protected].

TL;DR: Is it possible to define hierarchy, as a useful term for communication and association between anarchists? If so, what are some of those definitions?

There are many different strains of anarchism, and specially since anarchists mostly believe in decentralization, I feel like many of our efforts go diluted for lack of collective organization. Sure, there are big anarchist collectives doing work out there, but I have the sensation that most youth or influential people who identify themselves with anarchist causes get lost in the plot simply for lack of a bigger movement. For most of the modes of anarchism there is one big bad evil guy, commonly named "hierarchy"; although writers and academics define those terms in their publications, I can't help but notice, at least in the forums I've been around, your average anarchists could be talking about two completely different concepts of hierarchy or oppression. Maybe if we had agreed upon definitions to those hot topics it would be easier to associate. Is that even possible? That we all agree on the same meaning for a word? Do we call Chomsky to solve this linguistical issue?

Or am I completely wrong in my questionings?

Came across this site while looking for the manual for the robot dogs now patrolling trump's place, looks like a great source of helpful info.

Why do you believe in it, do you approve it in theory or also in practice? I think a lot of people approve of anarchism in theory but rejects the possibility of it to be put in practice unless we live in an utopia.. which I don't think we do, unfortunately. Maybe techno-anarchism would be more practical? Technology is such badly regulated and ordinary people are punished harsher than corporate so I really think techno-anarchism deserves a lot more attention (not saying anarchism itself doesn't) I see a lot of people here are more knowledgeable than me so don't take my word so seriously, maybe I shouldn't be expressing my idiot thoughts on it, or maybe just embrace it and ask regardless of any shame I might get.

I'm not trying to be mean to anyone, just genuinely wanted to discuss with whoever is willing to chip in on the topic.

Havnt looked into the actual thinking behind anarchism. Played a lot of 2b2t.org back in my day so thats my reference point. Please enlighten me on your thinking.

Hi! I apologize in advance if this is not the place for such posts.

I have recently happened upon descriptions of anarchism and its core ideas and, to my surprise, realized that I very much agree with all that I read. I would like to figure out what can I do to at least make an attempt to change the world into this direction.

Thing is, I grew up and currently live in Ukraine. I'm not sure what can I even do when my country is in a state of war, especially considering I'd rather not stick around in public places too much (being a guy and all).

Are there any online communities for Ukrainian anarchists that anyone knows of? I would also welcome any materials you think would be useful to study for someone new to anarchists' ideas

Thank you for reading this!

Note: This is not a Sovereign Citizen thing. It's intentionally anational: It doesn't matter where you were born or who you were born to, everyone should have the same chances. Similar to Fridtjof Nansen's stateless passports in the 1920s or Garry Davis's world citizen passports.

A philosophical project for an open source non-government ID: https://memdeklaro.github.io/

Article: https://medium.com/@memdeklaro/self-declaration-of-identity-memdeklaro-de-identeco-5fd96231da44

There’s no central database, just a self-declaration of your (self-chosen) name, birth date, photo and signature that you print yourself.

Looks similar to the Digitalcourage ID (https://shop.digitalcourage.de/gadgets/lichtbildausweis-mit-selbst-waehlbaren-daten.html) and World Citizen Passport (https://worldcitizengov.org/what-is-the-world-passport/).

Beefing up the institutions through which the fascists will enact their policies is complicity. Normalizing violence against the people that the fascists intend to target is complicity. Turning over the communications platforms via which people share information is complicity. Discouraging people from the kind of tactics one needs to fight against a fascist regime is complicity. Over the past four years, the Democrats have done every single one of these things.

I was originally planning to copy the whole post in a lemmy body, but mastodon makes it too painful to copy-paste as it truncates each link and images have to be copied manually. I also don't know if it fits in a post body. Anyway, If anyone wants to try their hand at copy pasting it in its entirety here, feel free.