Social Anarchism

88 Pages·2012·0.83 MB·English

Social Anarchism
Organisation
and
Federação Anarquista
by
Rio Janeiro ‐ FARJ
do de
English translation of Anarquismo Social e Organização, by the
Anarchist Federation of Rio de Janeiro (Federação Anarquista do
Rio de Janeiro – FARJ), Brazil, approved at the 1st FARJ Congress,
held on 30th and 31st of August 2008.
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Federação Anarquista do Rio de Janeiro 1
The first Congress of the FARJ was held with the principal objective of
deepening our reflections on the question of organisation and formalising
them into a programme. This debate has been happening within our
organisation since 2003. We have produced theoretical materials, established
our thinking, learned from the successes and mistakes of our political practice
it was becoming increasingly necessary to further the debate and to formalise
it, spreading this knowledge both internally and externally. The document
“Social Anarchism and Organisation” formalises our positions after all these
reflections. More than a purely theoretical document, it reflects the
conclusions realised after five years of practical application of anarchism in
the social struggles of our people. The document is divided into 16 parts. It
has already been published in Portuguese in a book co-published between
Faísca and the FARJ.
Document approved at the 1st Congress,
held on 30th and 31st of August 2008
The first Congress of the Anarchist Federation of Rio de Janeiro pays tribute
to its comrades:
Juan Perez Bouzas (1899-1958)
Featured anarchist cobbler of Galician origin that,
with unusual talent and determination, highlighted the necessity
of the deepening of the struggle. In 2008 we remember the
fiftieth anniversary of his death (05/09/1958).
Ideal Peres (1925-1995)
That, with sensibility and ample vision of the political horizon,
guaranteed the maintenance of the social axis of anarchism
and the connection of generations of militants.
Plínio Augusto Coêlho (1956- )
Tireless in giving substance to our dreams,
connecting them to the long thread that binds us to those who preceded us
in the quiet or turbulent act of revolution.
“If you remained isolated, if each one of you were
obliged to act on their own, you would be powerless without a doubt; but
getting together and organising your forces – no matter how weak they are
at first – only for joint action, guided by common ideas and attitudes, and by
working together for a common goal, you will become invincible.”
Mikhail Bakunin
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2 Federação Anarquista do Rio de Janeiro
Summary:
0. Translator’s Introduction ............................................................................................. 4
1. The Context of the 2008 Congress and the Debate
About Organisation ...................................................................................................... 6
2. Social Anarchism, Class Struggle and
Centre-Periphery Relations .......................................................................................... 8
3. Anarchism in Brazil: Loss and Attempted Recovery
of the Social Vector ..................................................................................................... 11
4. Society of Domination and Exploitation:
Capitalism and State .................................................................................................... 16
5. Final Objectives: Social Revolution
and Libertarian Socialism ............................................................................................ 22
6. Organisation and Social Force .................................................................................... 30
7. Social Movements and the Popular Organisation ....................................................... 33
8. The Specific Anarchist Organisation (SAO):
The Anarchist Organisation ........................................................................................ 40
9. The SAO: Social Work and Insertion ........................................................................ 50
10. The SAO: Production and Reproduction of Theory ................................................ 55
11. The SAO: Anarchist Propaganda ............................................................................. 58
12. The SAO: Political Education, Relations and Resource Management .................... 60
13. The SAO: Relations of the Specific Anarchist Organisation
with the Social Movements ....................................................................................... 61
14. The SAO: The Need for Strategy, Tactics
and Programme .......................................................................................................... 65
15. Especifismo: Anarchist Organisation, Historical Perspectives
and Influences ............................................................................................................ 69
16. Notes and Conclusion ............................................................................................... 80
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Social Anarchism and Organisation
Translator’s Introduction
This document, first published in Portuguese Malatesta in his conception of the anarchist
under the title Anarquismo Social e Organização party.
and adopted at the first Congress of the Feder- Drawing from the experience of the loss of
ação Anarquista do Rio de Janeiroin August 2008, what it terms the “social vector of anarchism”
seeks to map out the FARJ’s theoretical concep- (anarchism’s social influence) at the end of the
tion of an organised, class struggle anarchism glorious period of anarchism, the FARJ advocates
and, “More than a purely theoretical document, the need for a specific anarchist organisation –
[...] reflects the conclusions realised after five tightly organised, comprising highly committed
years of practical application of anarchism in the militants sharing high levels of theoretical and
social struggles of our people”. strategic unity – that, through participating in
In it the FARJ traces its historical and organ- and supporting popular movements and strug-
isational roots through the militant histories of gles against exploitation and domination, seeks
Carioca * anarchists such as Ideal Peres, who to influence these movements with anarchist
struggled to keep the flame of anarchism alight principles and in a revolutionary and libertarian
during the dark days of dictatorship, to militants direction. The final objective thereof being the
such as his father, Juan Perez Bouzas, Galician recapturing of the social vector of anarchism as
immigrant anarchist who participated decisively a necessary step towards the introduction of lib-
in the Battle of Sé in 1934, “when the anarchists ertarian socialism by means of social revolution.
rejected the Integralistas**under bursts of ma- In seeking to increase the social influence of
chine gun fire”. anarchism the FARJ re-asserts the need for an-
In what is perhaps one of the most compre- archism to come increasingly into contact with
hensive elaborations on the Latin American the exploited classes, thus identifying the class
concept of especifistaanarchism now available in struggle as the most important and fertile terrain
English, Social Anarchism and Organisation in which to attempt to spread anarchist princi-
traces and outlines the theoretical and practical ples and practices. For these to take root, how-
influences on the FARJ’s conception of anar- ever, it is essential for organised anarchists to
chist organisation and its strategy for social carry out permanent and consistent propaganda,
transformation. It advocates a conception of an- organisational and educational work within the
archism that divides anarchist activity into two movements and organisations of the exploited
levels of activity – the social (social or ‘mass’ class and – critically for the FARJ – to always
movement) and political (specific anarchist or- act in a manner consistent with what it terms a
ganisation) – arguing that this dual-organisa- “militant ethic”. Social Anarchism and Organisa-
tionalist approach to anarchist organisation is tionoutlines the FARJ’s conception of the var-
consistent with, and can by traced back to the ious tasks of the specific anarchist organisation,
ideas and practices of Bakunin himself in the as well as its structure, processes for attracting
Alliance of Socialist Democracy. The FARJ new members and its orientation towards social
traces this common political lineage back to movements – all according to the logic of con-
Bakunin through the experiences of the Fed- centric circles.
eración Anarquista Uruguaya (FAU) and those In formulating strategic answers to the ques-
of the 1918 Aliança Anarquistaand 1919 Partido tions, “where are we?”, “where do we want to
Comunista(libertarian in content); through the go?” and “how do we think we can leave where
experience of the Magonistasduring the Mexi- we are and arrive at where we want to be?”, So-
can Revolution and the radical phases of the cial Anarchism and Organisationarticulates the
Partido Liberal Mexicano (PLM); through the FARJ’s understanding of social classes under
experiences of the Federación Anarquista Iberica “the society of exploitation and domination” –
* Someone who comes (FAI) and Friends of Durruti group during the capitalism and state – as well as its final objec-
from Rio de Janeiro Spanish Revolution, and those of the authors of tives – social revolution and libertarian social-
the Organisational Platform of the Libertarian ism – and how these may look. In so doing it
** Brazilian fascist
movement Communists (Platform); to those of Errico explains the FARJ’s conception of “the popular
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Social Anarchism and Organisation
organisation” which – uniting social movements struggling
for freedom and accumulating the experiences and gains
made in the daily class struggle – would, rather than repre-
senting the simple sum of the forces of isolated social move-
ments, constitute a far greater social force that, at the
moment in which it becomes greater than that of the state
and capital, should make a decisive break with the current
system and, using violence as a necessary response to the vi-
olence of the state and capital, initiate the transition to lib-
ertarian socialism by means of social revolution. Since initial
publication of this document, however, the FARJ has taken
to using the term “popular power” as a substitute for “the
popular organisation”, and has further developed its under-
standing of this concept so central to especifismo.
In the more than three years since adoption of this docu-
ment the FARJ has undergone a number of theoretical devel-
opments, such as: deepening its conception of class based on
the category of “domination”, while considering economic
class as one kind of domination; new research and understand-
ing of the history of Brazilian anarchism in the decades of the
1940s and 1950s; theory and method of analysis and the deep-
ening of some topics on anarchist organisation. There have
also been some practical developments, including the devel-
opment of “social work” with the following movements:
Grassroots Unemployed Workers Movement (MTD-Pela
Base), Landless Movement (MST), Popular Councils Move-
ment (Movimento Conselhos Populares) and participation in
the creation of a “Popular Organisation” tendency.
Although this document, located within a particular Latin
American context, was first published and adopted over three
years before this translation it remains an insightful and in-
structive contribution to global contemporary anarchist theory
and practice; relevant to anyone committed to finding in an-
archist praxis the most suitable response to the question, “how
do we think we can leave where we are and arrive at where we
want to be?” I hope this translation does it justice.
Jonathan Payn
Johannesburg, March 2012
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Part 1
The Context of the 2008 Congress and the
Debate about Organisation
To theorise effectively it is essential to act.
Uruguayan Anarchist Federation (FAU)
The first Congress of the FARJ was held with the principal tual influence that exists between theory and practice, since we
objective of deepening our reflections on the question of or- consider them inseparable. When both interact reciprocally,
ganisation and formalising them into a programme. and in a positive way, they enhance the results of all the work
Since 2003 the debate around organisation has been taking of the organisation. With good theory you improve practice;
place within our organisation. We had produced theoretical with good practice you improve theory. There is no way to
materials, developed our thinking, learned from the successes conceive the anarchist organisation as with only theory and no
and mistakes of our political practice and it was becoming in- practice, or even developing a theory and trying to completely
creasingly necessary to further the debate and to formalise it, adapt the practice to it.
spreading this knowledge both internally and externally. From the beginning we thought it would be fundamental
The practical work of our two fronts – occupations and com- not to construct an organisation that, distant from struggles,
munity – was absolutely central to the theoretical reflections writes documents and then goes into practice with the objec-
that we made in this period. It even contributed to the creation tive of adapting it to the theory. Likewise, it never appeared
of our third front in early 2008 – the agro-ecological front, possible to us to conceive anarchist organisation with only
called Anarchism and Nature. practice but no theory, or even assuming as theory everything
One year ago we decided to have a debate around organisa- that happens in practice. We always sought a balance that, on
tion, in necessary depth, with the aim of formalising the con- the one hand, did not have as an objective to theorise deeply
clusions into a document that would be validated at the 2008 in order to begin acting and, on the other, sought to ensure
Congress. For this reason, still in 2007, we took some actions that the action was in line with the theory which, in our un-
to contribute to the necessary theoretical maturity that would derstanding, strengthens the result of militants’ efforts without
be essential to this path we wanted to take: unnecessary loss of energy.
In this debate, which took place in the last two years and
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Activation of the Political Education Secretary which is formalised in this document, we desired to develop a
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Carrying-out of Internal Education Seminars proper theory that was not simply a repetition of other theories
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Development of Education Handbooks for Militants developed in other places and at other times. Obviously, our
whole theory is imbued, from beginning to end, with other
These actions sought to give to each militant of our organ- theories and of other authors that lived and acted in other con-
isation the structure, space and necessary support so that this texts. It would be impossible to conceive of a consistent anar-
debate would be able to take place in the most desirable way chist theory without the contribution of the classical
possible. We made a great effort to read, write, debate, revisit anarchists, for example. However, we made a point of having
materials already written, deepen discussions, make clarifica- a long reflection on these – the theories and thoughts of these
tions; in sum, to plan in the fullest we thought necessary for authors – and whether they make sense in our context today.
this debate. We seek to create proper concepts, aiming to give original
However, we did not only want to provide a forum for de- character to the theory that we wanted to create, and in this
bate. We wanted to reach more conclusive positions, or deepen endeavour we think we have been very successful as we, in our
the political line of the organisation. As one of the features of view, construct and formalise a coherent theory, articulating
our organisational model is theoretical and ideological unity, classical and contemporary theories, as well as our own con-
we wanted to use this time for the deepening of certain theo- ceptions. Nevertheless, we do not believe that this is a defini-
retical and ideological questions, and ultimately arrive at con- tive theory. Many aspects could be improved. Lastly... the
crete positions, to be defined and disseminated by the whole most important thing is to make it clear that we think we are
organisation. taking the first steps along this path we wish to follow.
In these five years we had always thought that in order to Finally, we desired to build this discussion and its formali-
develop a political line we necessarily need to think of the mu- sation in a collective manner. It is not enough for us that one
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Social Anarchism and Organisation
or another comrade writes all the theory of the organisation
and that others simply observe and follow their positions. It
was because of this that we sought, throughout this period, to
consider all the positions of the organisation and not just of
one militant or another. This too, in our view, adds value to
the text. It does not come from the head of one or other intel-
lectual that thinks of politics detached from reality, but on the
contrary is the result of five years of struggle and organisation
of anarchism in permanent contact with the struggles of our
time, seeking a revolutionary social transformation towards
libertarian socialism. In sum, it is the result of five years of
practical activity.
With the purpose of contributing one more step, of formal-
ising theoretically that which has accumulated in our short his-
tory, we held the first Congress – which occurred in
conjunction with the commemoration of five years of the
FARJ – on 30 and 31 August 2008. The main reflections of
which are recorded below.
Ethics, commitment, freedom!
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Part 2
Social Anarchism, Class Struggle
and Centre‐Periphery Relations
[...] because anarchism is an ideology
which refuses to create new central systems
with new peripheral areas.
Rudolf de Jong
Anarchism is, for us, an ideology; this being Thus it was within the IWA that anarchism
a set of ideas, motivations, aspirations, values, a took shape, “in the direct struggle of the workers
structure or system of concepts that has a direct against capitalism, from the needs of the work-
connection with action – that which we call po- ers, from their aspirations to freedom and equal-
litical practice. Ideology requires the formula- ity that lived, particularly, in the masses of
tion of final objectives (long term, future workers in the most heroic times”.1 The work
perspectives), the interpretation of the reality in of theorising anarchism was done by thinkers
which we live and a more or less approximate and workers who were directly involved in social
prognosis about the transformation of this real- struggles and who helped to formalise and dis-
ity. From this analysis ideology is not a set of seminate the sentiment that was latent in what
abstract values and ideas, dissociated from prac- they called the “mass movement”. Thus over the
tice with a purely reflective character, but rather years anarchism developed theoretically and
1. Dielo Trouda, a system of concepts that exist in the way in practically. On the one hand it contributed in a
Plataforma which it is conceived together with practice and unique way to episodes of social transformation,
organizativa por una
returns to it. Thus, ideology requires voluntary maintaining its ideological character such as, for
Unión General de
Anarquistas. and conscious action with the objective of im- example, in the Mexican Revolution, the Russ-
Translation to printing the desire for social transformation on ian Revolution, the Spanish Revolution or even
Spanish, revised and
society. in Brazilian episodes, like the General Strike of
corrected by Frank
Mintz. We use quotes We understand anarchism as an ideology that 1917 and the Insurrection of 1918. On the other
from this translation provides orientation for action to replace capi- hand in certain contexts anarchism assumed cer-
made directly from
talism, the state and its institutions with liber- tain characteristics that retreated from the ide-
the Russian, as the
versions available to tarian socialism – a system based on ological character, transforming it into an
us in Portuguese and self-management and federalism – without any abstract concept which became merely a form
Spanish, both
scientific or prophetic pretensions. of critical observation of society. Over the years
translated from the
French, have several Like other ideologies, anarchism has a history this model of anarchism assumed its own iden-
differences from the and specific context. It does not arise from in- tity, finding references in history and at the
Russian original.
tellectuals or thinkers detached from practice, same time losing its character of the struggle for
Although the title of
the document here is who pursued only abstract reflection. Anar- social transformation. This was more strikingly
Spanish, we are chism has a history which developed within the evident in the second half of the twentieth cen-
referring to the same
great class struggles of the nineteenth century, tury. Thought of from this perspective anar-
document translated
into English as when it was theorised by Proudhon and took chism ceases to be a tool of the exploited in their
The Organisational shape in the midst of the International Workers struggle for emancipation and functions as a
Platform of the
Association (IWA), with the work of Bakunin, hobby, a curiosity, a theme for intellectual de-
Libertarian
Communists. Guillaume, Reclus and others who advocated bate, an academic niche, an identity, a group of
revolutionary socialism in opposition to re- friends, etc. For us, this view seriously threatens
2. Errico Malatesta,
formist, legalist or statist socialism. This ten- the very meaning of anarchism.
“Anarquismo y
Anarquia”. Excerpt dency of the IWA was later known as This disastrous influence on anarchism was
from Pensiero e “federalist” or “anti-authoritarian” and found its noted and criticised by various anarchists from
Volontà, May 16,
continuity in the militancy of Kropotkin, Malatesta, when he polemicised with the indi-
1925. In: Vernon
Richards Malatesta and others. vidualists that were against organisation,2 to
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