The principle and practice of “violence” against property
The recent student protests – in particular the siege of Millbank Tower and the riots on the day of the tuition fees vote – have provoked an awful lot of debate. Among other things, it brought the boogeyman of anarchism back into the media spotlight and helped to reinvigorate the fight against the cuts. What … Read more
What is anarcho-syndicalism: Not just syndicalism
The second part of a series exploring anarcho-syndicalism, its aims and principles, and the practicalities of enacting them in the real world. In The Union Makes Us Strong? the Anarchist Communist Federation (ACF, now Anarchist Federation) offered “a critical analysis” of “syndicalism, including its anarcho variety.” In it, they painted anarcho-syndicalists as “dismissive of the … Read more
Anarchism, ethnicity, and culture: building a global movement
The seventh and final part in a series of articles discussing the anarchist movement as it relates to non-European peoples and cultures. What lessons are to be learned from the examples of anarchism beyond the West? How can we build upon them to make a truly global resistance movement? Throughout this series, one of my major sources has … Read more
Why pacifism is morally indefensible
Influenced by Henry David Thoreau and Leo Tolstoy, Mohandas Gandhi is perhaps the first person to put the principles of nonviolence and non-cooperation into effect of a mass scale. Explaining this principle, in For Pacifists, he wrote; The science of war leads one to dictatorship, pure and simple. The science of non-violence alone can lead … Read more
Anarcho-syndicalism and anarchist communism
I am, as those who read my articles regularly should be aware, an anarchist communist. I want to see a world where the workers control industry and communities manage their own resources, without the oppressive interference of the state, capital, or any other top-down structure. Perhaps less-known is the fact that I am also an … Read more
