Ceasefire 2008/Spring

2008·22.3 MB·English

by  Yezza, Hicham (ed)

We know Starbucks is out to get money, argues John, and there’s no great
conspiracy. The anti-Starbucks campaign is well-meaning but ill-founded.
Not so, replies Camille, as long as we stick to the principle of fairtrade.
be a small fish in the university's fry? demonstration is for the attention
To the anti-Starbucks campaign: of university officials, not Starbucks
Making money is certainly not a hid- CEOS, and What must be an im-
Everyone and his squirrel is signing den agenda, but self-proclamation by portant result of this campaign is
one petition or other against the sta1'- Starbucks of itself as ” an ethical com- developing the idea of choice within
bucks incursion on campus. It seem pany” is certainly devious, and fair- the student population.This idea of
S
such a one-sided clear-cut issue that trade should be first priority in the choice has been eloquently illustrated
one is made to stop in his tracks and campaign's rallying call. To center though the 40p tea and coffee served
think: is it really? on price increases is to lose focus of outside by volunteers these last few
the main problem with Nottingham weeks but this is of course not a sus-
Starbucks is a company. Making Hospitality’s new acquisition. tainable course of action.
money is not a hidden agenda - it's
the very reason it's operating - so Excluding students from executive Whilst the continuing corporatisa-
why hold that against it? decisions is another point of conten- tion of Nottingham University is a
tion and does encourage people to travesty, and any protest against it a
The University is a business - or at rally round, enthusiastic at the idea welcome ripple in the seas of invest-
least the catering side of it is - so Wh of protesting for democracy. But the ment, what the starbucks campaign
Y
should it not run according to busi absence of student consultation, and needs now is an aim focused on a
ness rules? The highest bidder and an undemocratic arrival to campus, certain issue- one which cannot be
so on? should still not be the main focus of waived away along with other, per-
ceived utopic, student ideals.
the campaign.
And in the end, what's the real beef
And so one returns to fair trade, a
here? The price hike? Well, it's bet-
social responsibility that many men,
ter (and bigger) coffee that's being
squirrels and conglomerates are try-
served, so is it that amazing that it
ing to bandwagon. (For the image of
costs a bit more?
course) This is an issue that Notting-
ham University may be swayed on- a
We are forced to conclude that the
anti-Starbucks action on campus a swish socially responsible status
to go with their snazzy new light
well-meaning but ultimately ill-
fixtures.
founded and ambiguous knee jerk
reaction against the corporatism of
Having effectively back—tracked on
modern life.
fair trade policy agreements made
with the stude nt’s union is a plat-
Iohn Borison
form of hypocrisy upon which activ-
ists may dance.
By teaching more students of the
Dear Iohn,
worth of fair trade and how easy it
is to make a choice not just at hall-
Creamy cappuccinos freshly served
ward but maybe in sainsbury’s too,
at Nottingham's central library
we might just find that the campaign
provide a welcome break from work.
makes larger waves than we had
Of a higher quality than previous
filter coffees, Starbucks heightens th The topic that must be at the fore- anticipated.
6
affluent, global status of the univer front of debate, criticism and protest
sity and provides a familiar brand to is that of the loss of fairtrade. Star- Camille Herreman
those missing the high street within buck's annual shareholder report
this campus bubble. Surely then, the notes that 6% of their coffee beans
loss of fairtrade in Hallward should have fairtrade status. A Hallward
CEASEFIRE | SPRING zoos | 2
, ,__ ,__ __ _,_ _ I
Hicham Yezza
Do you believe in free speech? Do you believe in open
debate? Do you believe in in-depth analysis and no-non-
sense opinions? If your answer to all these questions is to
the affirmative then Ceasefire Magazine needs you.
This is our fifth year and we believe the need for a radical
forum of opinions and ideas is more acute and more press-
ing than ever. The fourth estate has always maintained
an uneasy relationship with the powers of the day, but
it's virtually impossible to be a truly independent journal
these days when faced with the daunting pressures that
afflict the press as a matter of course: financial strains,
institutional pressures, censorship (including self-censor-
ship) - all the way to the most overt kind of bullying.
But publish we must. "Speak truth to power” we shall.
We believe in the power of ideas and we would like you,
dear readers, to join us in our quest for a more sustain-
able, better-run world. Idealism is dismissed as an irrel-
evant luxury in a world dominated by cynicism and real-
politik - well idealism might be redundant, but idealists
certainly not. From Martin Luther King to Mandela, it's
the very people who think the unthinkable that make the
impossible possible.
So join our team: write, design, report, and create for us.
Subscribe to our magazine and help us make it a powerful
beacon of free thought. D0 it all, and do it now.
We'll be waiting.
Peace, etc.
Hicham
Téte-6-Tétes
Oooooh ooooh... I've got another (Ian I PLEASE 90 home
one!! what's round and blue and MP President???
makes noises at night??!!!!
I-ici - 2008
CEASEFIRE | SPRING 2008 | 3
Students arrive at Nottingham with pre-booked rooms, set reading lists, and organised
club nights. Obsessed with drink, drugs and a 2.i, they are rendered an impotent force -
about as political as a flock of sheep. Or are they?
Musab Younis meets some campus activists - with surprising results.
It may come as a surprise, witnessing not caring." Peter Blair, President of for political participation than
the busloads of Nottingham freshers the Politics Society, notes with surprise students. Many of those who were
being nightly transported to pre- the number of students reading active during the so-called sixties
arranged club nights at pre-organised for Politics who "really do seem heyday fiercely refute that apathy
times, that students have often been apathetic." Young people “are meant has set in: that's just a myth, they say.
viewed as serious threats to various to be the idealistic ones", says Chloe Activist idol Noam Chomsky quickly
establishments. Indeed, fear about Cheesman the SU's Environment dismisses it as “part of the propaganda
radicalised students in 1930s America and Social Iustice Officer, “but that that's trying to get people back to
was so great, a right-wing movement seems to be less and less the case." passivity." The argument that it is
began to force faculty members to getting more difficult to act against an
overwhelming feeling of helplessness
take ‘loyalty oaths’ declaring their
patriotism and commitment to in the atomised, discormected West
‘American’ ideals. (By the end of the does hold some weight - at least in
thirties, twenty-one states had actually theory. Guy Debord, the visionary
adopted such oaths.) Student strikes in French theorist, described the modern
Paris in 1968, originally about the issue Western world as a ‘spectacle’, where
of university funding and the closure a constant stream of amusements
of a campus, brought the country to a alienate us from ourselves but “show
standstill and very nearly precipitated us a world than can no longer be
another French revolution. And directly grasped". All activity is
during the American Civil Rights simply channelled into the continuous
Movement, it was the explicitly construction of the spectacle. A lot of
Student Non-violent Coordinating this strikes a chord with anyone who
Committee (SNCC) which organised has witnessed the constant partying
the Freedom Rides and Freedom and detachment from reality at
Ballots and eventually, frustrated Nottingham. You don't even have to
with slow progress and systematic think abstractly to imagine Debord‘s
oppression, raised the banner of And Nsikan Edung, the vocal campus all-encompassing spectacle of false
‘Black Power’ for the first time. They activist who led the highly popular reality - Ocean on a Friday night will
were headed by the movement's library card campaign last year (and suffice as an explanation. But as well
founder, Stokley Carmichael, himself recently became president of the as all this theory describes some sense
a student at Howard University. SU) comments: “No one wants to of reality, it also reflects a kind of self-
Students catalysed, assisted and were rock the boat." He observes a large indulgent pessimism. You get a sense
instrumental players in a number of number of students absent-mindedly that nothing can possibly be done to
revolutions, reforms and popular waiting to “roll into their graduate change these social structures and
demonstrations worldwide during jobs" but, perhaps surprisingly, cultural norms - and that's a decidedly
the twentieth century - in countries as dismisses the notion of ‘apathy’. non-activist way of looking at things.
diverse as China, SouthAfrica and Iran. “They're just harder to mobilise,"
he claims. “But it can be done." If we move past our initial despair
Fast-forward to present-day at the lack of a widespread political
Nottingham, and you will often hear a There are wider forces at work, and it culture, we will discover a plethora
different story: one of bored students would be unfair to single out students of vocal activist groups on campus.
who are disconnected from political as being particularly apathetic. There are about two dozen political
issues and materially-minded. Sam Bored of indistinguishable parties, societies that could be termed ‘activist’
Walton, three-year member of the skewed media coverage and a clear officially registered with the Students‘
ESIC, explains: “People are worried official disdain for their involvement Union; each focussing on different
that I'm going to disrupt their apathy. (remember the last half-hearted things, each with specific concerns.
Apathy isn't even the right word to general election?), the rest of the Some, like the societies affiliated with
describe it any more - they're actively country has shown no more appetite mainstream political parties, want to
CEASEFIRE | SPRING zoos | 4
'~ ~~——-----» ---- -~------- ----_-W.-
The Student's Union is a case in point
represent widely-held views whilst different points of view," he says.
- it is a democratic body representing
“If you just talk to people who agree
avoiding unnecessaly controversy.
all students — and from the outside,
Others thrive on debate and mixtures with you, you're intellectually patting
it looks like it could be a powerful
yourself on the back." Holding a
of opinion as a forum for discussion.
vehicle for change. Some of those
But the majority are concerned forum for conversation can be the
who have tried to work through the
first major step in countering political
explicitly with the question of help:
SU are less enthusiastic about its
they are activist because they attempt disinterest, especially as providing
potential. Nsikan Edung, who led
a space outside of the seminar room
to address the question ‘what can we
the highly successful library card
can remove some of the formality
do?‘ The recipients of this help vary:
campaign last year told me: “They're
they can be refugees, AIDS victims, associated with political discussion.
more interested in talking and
children, developing countries or the But does all this talking really achieve
being friendly to the university than
environment. Finally, there are the anything beyond intellectually
taking them on." But then he became
‘umbrella’ movements, which seek patting other people on the back?
president. Clearly, we should avoid
to incorporate these groups into a “Yes," Peter says, noting critically the
dismissing its potential altogether.
“grand gestures" of more outspoken
broader structure, such as the Student
Chloe Cheeseman, who is the SU's
Environment and Ethics Committee groups. “You have to be realistic
Environment and Social Iustice
about what you're going to change."
(SEEN) and the Environment and
Officer, agrees that the union can be
Putting pressure on the university
Social Iustice Committee (ESIC)
tentative: "There is a feeling that we
- not officially ‘societies’, but and the SU can often be far more
don't want to wreck our relationship
productive and realistic than trying to
SU bodies — and the Nottingham
with the university," but points
directly change global or international
Student Peace Movement (NSPM).
to Nsikan's library card protest of
The Politics Society is a good example institutions. But this can still have
proof that official policy can change
the global repercussions you desire
of an society that challenges our
as a result of outspoken protest.
- for example, forcing the university
notions about apolitical Nottingham.
She acknowledges a split “between
Its primary purposes are to encourage to adopt a fully fairtrade policy, or a
those who want to work through
real ethical investment programme.
dialogue and education: incorporating
the bureaucratic structure of the SU
social events, current affairs seminars
and university, and those who are
and guest speakers. Peter Blair, who Conformism and the SU
alienated by the system and don't
heads the society, is critical of the
There is sometimes a tendency to
believe in it", and proposes a two-
activist tendency to work in groups
dismiss working within existing
pronged approach. Working both
of similar-minded people: “we
structures as intrinsically conformist.
within and outside of the system can
want to get people talking from all
CEASEFIRE | SPRING 2008 | 5
achieve the best results, although not just material, but psychological: political management that it dislikes
it does require hardliners on either “more people believing they can and seek to change them. Instead, it
side to soften their positions. “It's change things." University is clearly seems to represent a fundamental
sometimes hard to bring those two an ideal arena in which to act - unwillingness in its participants to
sections of the activist community students are technically adults, but compromise with and buy into the
together," she says, “but the almost completely free from the real corporate consensus that appears
Starbucks campaign has proved responsibilities of adult life which can to be pervasive at the university.
that we can compromise between make active participation so difficult Even in the face of slow progress
ourselves." for all but the most committed in and widespread disinterest, activists
the wider world. We have free time take satisfaction from the conceptual
Although the union can be an effective and little responsibility, but various construction of alternatives. It is
tool, parallel structures are also structures open to us through which the process of thinking idealistically
necessary. The Nottingham Student we can educate, engage in dialogue, that those working for change gain
Peace Movement is an example of and affect change. Although we may a sense of achievement. To go back
to Debord‘s pessimistic image of the
a group with broad aims which has commit ourselves to one particular
achieved notable victories on campus: issue, it's important to recognise spectacle: it is something that “falsifies
“We campaign on everything," the scope of active work that can be reality" but “is nevertheless a real
explains last year's president, Sam achieved: in the Student's Union, in product of that reality." It is indeed
Walton. “We see something, and we educativeanddebatingsocieties,andin impossible to deny the existence of
feel moved to act." Groups like NSPM campaigningandvolunteeringgroups, a materialistic and market-orientated
can be essential in countering apathy, the avenues are open for exploration. culture at the university. We cannot
allow projected idealism to obscure
or the appearance of it - they campaign
our perceptions. But discussing
effectively, on local and international Graduation can be the end of all this
issues, and often bring together a work - like death, it barely crosses the nature of this all-encompassing
large number of people. “I think we anybody's mind, but it eventually false reality, which represents “the
can educate a lot of people," says Sam. happens to everyone. Whilst we may dominant model of life", Debord
This education is not purely about have diligently given up our spare observed that “the spectacle presents
contributing to knowledge students time for good causes at university, itself as a vast inaccessible reality
already have; it's also about changing a quick visit to one of the careers that can never be questioned."
the way people see structures of fairs offered at business-orientated
Perhaps it is the very act of questioning
learning, and teaching them to treat Nottingham can be depressing to a
the mainstream more cynically. young idealist. They are generally that is the most ‘active’ of all.
“There's a real ‘deschooling' aspect to composed exclusively of large
it," he adds, citing the misinformation corporations promoting undeniably
propagated by a corporate-controlled conservative roles in management,
media as something activists need law and accountancy. “I'm not a
to work to remedy. NSPM is an big fan of the fact that Nottingham
optimistic group, and Sam sees real seems to marketed to the FTSE 100,"
potential for change, citing globally- says Peter of the Politics Society.
thinking but locally-acting students “There's absolutely no NGO or media
who have successfully campaigned presence." Will there ever be a chance
for recycling facilities on campus and for us to put this activist knowledge
persuaded the university to invest to the test, or are we merely living
‘semi-ethically‘. “At the moment, this out brief, adolescent fantasies before
is our arena," he points out. We can relegating our goals of world peace
achieve global changes, but working to a partnership at Merryl Lynch? Is
through local means can often be the graduation the death of the activist?
most effective and most rewarding Sam disagrees: “It's incredibly easy
method. Campaigning serves a dual to find a job that's good for the
purpose: you (hopefully) achieve world and is socially conscious.
your campaign goals, at least partly, You just have to have one thing -
and you enlighten people's minds imagination." Corporate roles offer
along the way. “Everything serves a no real challenges, he asserts, and
purpose to educate people," says Sam. there is a variety of work available
that will pay the bills and make a
The veneer of nonchalance and difference, providing you're willing to
detachment at university can be think outside the socially-constructed
deceptive, but scratch the surface and box. An ethical careers fayre, planned
you can be surprised at the passion for early next year, could be an
and idealism you find. “We‘ve important step in the right direction.
achieved a big victory on recycling,"
Sam says confidently; “I'd like to see You get a sense that activism is not
us winning the battles on media and merely goal-centred; it does not
education." The changes he wants are simply focus on minor issues of
CEASEFIRE | SPRING 2008 | 6
After half a century as president of Cuba, Fidel Castro finally stepped down.
What happens next? Rowan Lubbock analyses the history of Cuba and
makes some sobering predictions.
The sheer flurry of recent speculation
over the future prospects for a Cuba
without Castro can seem almost
overwhelming.
Much of the initial commentary in the
Westhasconsistedofexuberantvictory
calls, proclaiming a forthcoming of
democracy and freedom. But it seems
the Cuban people are rather less
enthusiastic. Anthony DePalma of the
New York Times (among others) has
described ordinary Cubans as wary
of “a savage capitalism" that seems
poised to take away from them “the
best houses, the best land, the best
factories." Cuba's recent history sheds
light on these contradictory views.
“Ensconced in his Communist-run
island", the Economist observes,
“Castro has weathered ten American
presidents and their economic
embargo against him". For many in
the Third World, Cuba's defiance of
imperial domination has earned a
level of respect and solidarity that is
almost unparalleled, largely because:
“Cuban Communism always
differed from that of Eastern Europe
in being the product of a national
revolution, not of foreign conquest."
and the majority of Cuban peasants,
inserted directly into the Cuban
workers and members of the armed
constitution and the permanent treaty
Yet it would be a mistake to believe
forces. Acting out of fear that other
between the two countries. This
that Cuba has ever been an island
imperial powers might intervene
constitutional caveat permitted the
truly unto itself.
in Cuban affairs for the sake of
United States the right to intervene
protecting their own investments, the
in Cuban affairs for the sake of
Interventions
US invaded for a second time in 1906
“maintain[ing]... a government
Under Teddy Roosevelt's rubric of the adequate for the protection of life, by sending US warships and troops to
“proper policing of the world", Cuba pacify the "insurgents" and establish
property, and individual liberty".
became a de facto US protectorate, the “political stability" necessary
establishing a facade of independence for protecting American property.
Roosevelt found an ideological ally
following the withdrawal of US
in Tomas Estrada Palma, who was
troops in 1902. The risks associated Roosevelt,despitehisstatedpreference
elected as Cuba's first head of state in
with granting this small Caribbean for non-intervention, maintained that
1903. But trouble quickly brewed after
island its autonomy were sufficiently US intervention would swiftly occur
Palma's re-election in 1906, which
hedged through the drafting of if “the insurrectionary habit becomes
received widespread accusations of
the Platt Amendment, which was confirmed in the Island", citing
fraud from both the Liberal party
CEASEFIRE | SPRING 2008 | 7
I
the prerogative of US imperialism, control back to the Cuban people shackles of cash-crop exportation.
“which has assumed the sponsorship was never entirely realised. Ideological convergence (as well as
the near absolute US blockade of
before the civilised world for Cuba's
career as a nation." This pattern in world trade) made the Soviet Union
a natural partner in Cuba's economic
US-Cuban relations would remain a
development, giving Havana some
near constant until 1959, when a small
room for manoeuvre in diversifying
band of guerrilla resistance fighters,
lead by Fidel Castro, joined forces its industrial development.
with the vast majority of Cubans,
Yet by 1963, Castro had already run
including important sections of the
up a balance of payments deficit
capitalist class and petty bourgeoisie,
who had lost faith in Fulgencio with the Soviet Union of more than
Batista's increasingly corrupt regime. $300 million, mainly due to the
government's miscalculated central
planning and a drastic fall in world
During this tumultuous time the US
sugar prices. In the face of such a
was happy to see a smooth transition
crisis, Castro announced a return to
from Batista to a new, more popular
the specialisation of sugar production,
government, provided it was capable
in clear conflict with the stated goals
of preserving the structural integrity
of the revolutionary movement
of the Cuban state, which was central
to break Cuba's dependence on
to the security of US investments. “In
single-commodity exportation. 9
a crisis or period of political upheaval
in the Third World," point out Iames
In the end, Cuba could not escape
Petras and Morris Morley in their
the very nature of its standing within
study, “the regime is expendable, the
a capitalist world economy - it was
state is not". But with the overthrow
simply too small, underdeveloped and
of Batista came the dismantling of
tightly integrated into world markets
the entire pre-revolutionary Cuban
to successfully pursue policies of
state. The infusion of a genuine
rapid industrial development. Having
revolutionary movement into the Democracy
struck a decisive blow against the
state structure of Cuba brought a
While Castro's Cuba has been
old system of oppression, the Cuban
decisive blow to US imperial designs.
romanticised by many on the left
people were consistently denied any
as a bastion of worker power, the
chance of establishing a truly collective
Not surprisingly, the Eisenhower
historical structure of Cuban politics
system of autonomous worker
administration immediately sought
tells a different story. The debate and
associations that would be capable
to subvert the new state-regime. In
formation of policy at first stayed
of responding to popular needs. Free
1960 the CIA orchestrated an invasion
within a tight network of ‘declasses'
speech was curtailed. Criticism of the
that was to be executed by anti-
and sectors of the petty bourgeoisie,
revolutionary government was, and is,
Castro Cuban nationals, which was
and not with those the new
punishable by imprisonment or worse.
vigorously taken up by the incoming
revolutionary regime depended on
Kennedy administration whose
for support: workers and peasants?
This tragic narrative of strangulation
nadir saw the notorious Bay of Pigs
Despite this odd mix of revolutionary
and subversion from the
invasion end in catastrophe, at least
and capitalist interests inhabiting the
outside, and the centralisation of
for Kennedy. With both overt and
same cabinet, Castro's tight control
political power from the inside,
covert attacks yielding little result,
of policy formation within his own
has marred Cuba ever since.
Washington switched to a campaign
revolutionary clique frustrated
of economic warfare that saw the
the more conservative elements
Cuban economy almost completely Prospects
in government, who eventually
cut off from the world market (apart
resigned one by one to find more But now that the torch has been
from the Soviet Union). Writing in
lucrative pursuits in the United passed from one Castro to another,
April 1960, Deputy Assistant Secretary
what are the immediate prospects for
States. In the end, the most crucial
of State Lester Mallory concluded that
decisions concerning social, political Cuba today? Two issues immediately
the only way to ensure the downfall of
and economic affairs consistently emerge. Firstly, Cuba will very quickly
Castro was “through disenchantment
flowed from the top down, without have to learn how to swim among the
and disaffection based on economic
deadlycurrentsofglobalneoliberalism.
affording any political space in which
dissatisfaction and hardship. . . [Using]
the Cuban people might organise Secondly, as a concomitant effect of
every possible means... [the US
and implement their collective will. this ‘liberalisation’, the Cuban people
should seek] to weaken the economic
will likely see the continual economic
life of Cuba... to bring about hunger,
After turning its back on US capitalism restructuring of their country confined
desperation and [the eventual]
for the first time in Cuba's history, to a tiny policymaking clique, made
overthrow of the government"?
the revolutionary government was up of elements from the old guard
eager to begin the process of rapid and larger foreign capitalist interests,
Meanwhile on the island, the
industrialisation, in the hope that and possibly leading to a further
dream of bringing power and
Cuba could break itself from the degradation of the social fabric that
CEASEFIRE | SPRING zoos | s
I
rhetoric espousing greater political
began after the end of the Cold War. of Western capital and financial
freedom for ordinary Cubans.
speculators. As Anne Krueger, the
The Wall Street Iournal recently
During Cuba's ‘special period’ in the First Deputy Managing Director of
commented: “Raul is expected to
early 1990s, the economy opened up the IMF, has argued, an “efficient"
attempt to move the country toward
model of sovereign debt restructuring
to global financial flows and other
a more competitive economic system,
market reforms, leading to a sharp should “draw... on the principles of
on the China model, something he
rise in unemployment and a drop well-designed corporate bankruptcy
has supported in the past.“13 If China
in nutritional consumption. Income regimes"12 Anyone familiar with
is intended as a model of social
inequality almost doubled from the the modus operandi of corporate
development, the Cuban people
mid 1980s to 1999.1“ According to the restructuring will surely expect a rapid
have good reason to be weary.
Cuban sociologist Mayra Espina, three rise in unemployment, depressed
factors continue to aggravate these wages and lower social spending
The ‘enlightened despotism‘ of Cuba's
regressive developments: “growing within Cuban society, should the
Cold War past is likely to soon give
IMF be allowed to sink its teeth in.
income differentials; an increasing
way to a new ‘enlightened polyarchy',
disparity between the regions; and a
which seeks to support the imperatives
In keeping with the Castro brothers’
new social hierarchy based on material
of competitive accumulation. When
wealth, the symbol of success".“ preference for market reform over
Fidel Castro addressed the UN
political reform, Cuba is unlikely
General Assembly in September 1960,
Despite this painful experience, the US to see any substantial movement
he boldly proclaimed that, “imperialist
towards a more participatory
State Department remains adamant
financial capital is a prostitute that
that without further exposure to the political system, notwithstanding
cannot seduce us". Yet with the twin
the recent adoption of two human
global neoliberal framework, Cuba
transitory features of an increasing
rights agreements with the UN.
will have no chance of reducing its
openness to the world economy, and a
crippling level of hard currency debt,
.\ lack of popular power, it would seem
standing at roughly $11 billion. The As Time magazine explains,
that the seduction of Cuba is a very
report ‘Commission for Assistance Washington should “establish [with
real and dangerous possibility. The
to a Free Cuba‘ notes that addressing Cuba] the kind of diplomatic relations
Cuban people need our sympathy
[it] has with other iron-fisted regimes,
the debt “will allow Cuba to re-enter
.1 and solidarity now more than ever.
like those in China and Saudi Arabia",
world capital markets... Should Cuba
need debt relief from its Paris Club in the hope that it will be able “ to exert
some direct influence on the island's
creditors, Cuba will likely first need
an IMF program." This will no doubt economy and politics". This widely
entail a near total marginalisation shared sentiment among Western
elites nullifies the predictably empty
of the population for the sake
I
CEASEFIRE | SPRING 2008 | 9
Anarchism is an oft-misunderstood political ideology - it 9s not mainstream,
it doesn’t seem to have a set of defined principles and to many, the word
means ‘chaos’. Here, Usayd Al-Khashab answers some common questions.
Why do anarchists object to the Why do anarchists believe that the concentration of authority that states
establishment? state is unnecessary? could carry out the crimes of slavery,
mass genocide and illegal occupation
The establishment is the current sys- One of the central themes running that are widely witnessed in both
tem in place. It usually refers to the throughout anarchism is anti-statism. recent history and in the present day.
organised bodies of the state (e.g. the The state is a sovereign body that
police), and concentrations of private exercises supreme authority over all To be in authority is to acquire an
power (e.g. corporations). individuals and associations living appetite for prestige, control and
within a defined geographical area. eventually domination - giving rise
“It only makes sense to seek out Either forcibly or by non violent to a ‘psychology of power‘ of which
structures of authority," says Noam means, the removal of the state plays Paul Goodman (1911-72) said, ‘many
Chomsky “and to challenge them. a crucial role in defining anarchism are ruthless and most live in fear’.
Unless a justification for them can against other ideologies that it can be This is especially true when political
be given, they are illegitimate, and related with, notably socialism and authority is backed by the machinery
should be dismantled." liberalism. of the modern state.
Other ideologies, though they dislike
This implies is that anarchists are not
its ill-effects, recognise the state as a
dogmatically anti-establishment - but
-..-I *4...
that that onus is on the establishment iii a necessary evil. Anarchists, in con-
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to justify its authority. If the estab-
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for its authority, then it should be
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The ‘social contract‘ is largely a myth,
example, some instances of the use of
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authority and coercion - like pulling I M? " say anarchists. You become subject to
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traffic - are justifiable. Most are not.
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Anarchists generally believe that Iv?» . ' '"II:-3337:]-:-: »'- the state does not constitute a fair
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contract, agreed to without duress.
people are quite capable of fully
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The state is a coercive body whose
participating in meaningful decisions
laws must be obeyed because they
which affect them, and the society.
They pit themselves against the Sebastien Faure, in Encycopedie are backed by the threat of punish-
traditional conservative view (dat- Amzrchiste, defined anarchism as ‘the ment. You can dress this up in the
ing back to Plato) which argues that negation of the principle of Author- term ‘social contract‘, but its essence
some kind of an elite is necessary to ity'. He saw ‘Authority’ as an offence doesn't change. Since the advent of
preserve the good of the society as against the principles of freedom the state system (caused largely by
a whole. To an anarchist, everyone and equality. By rejecting the state, the needs of European capital and
who is involved in society must have anarchists endorse instead the princi- constant fighting in Europe), point
an equal say in the way it is run. ples of absolute freedom and unre- out anarchists, we have seen extreme
strained political equality. Authority ideologies of fascism and Stalinist
In the U.I<., as in other ‘polyarchial with the right of one person or insti- communism run vast swathes of the
democracries', the voter is presented tution to influence the behaviour of world. We have seen every imagi-
with a selection of representatives to others enslaves, oppresses and limits nable atrocity, genocide, and cata-
make decisions on their behalf. To human life. It damages and corrupts strophic war. We have come close to
an anarchist, this is the wrong way both those who are subject to author- destroying every living thing on the
wrong. Anarchists would push for ity and those who are in authority. planet - indeed, this possibility is still
far from unlikely. Isn't it time we lost
consensus decision-making, where
no power is disproportionately The state is automatically a possessor trust in the state?
vested in certain people. of high authority. It is only by this
CEASEFIRE | SPRING zoos | 1o