o_195qg5dto17o4rbc85q1ge61i84a.pdf

More documents

Recommendations

Info

strategies for change 141 operational plan, co-ordinating the actions of regional armies, so as to bring to a successful conclusion the fighting conducted on all fronts against the armed counter-revolution. 34 Makhno’s critics were not convinced. Malatesta attacked the proposal to create an anarchist union, arguing that it sounded too much like a defence of revolutionary government. 35 Voline criticized Makhno’s militarism. In his view ‘any army, of whatever kind it may be, always and inevitably ends by being affected by certain serious faults, by a special kind of evil mentality’. 36 Similar arguments about military organization were rehearsed in Spain. Admittedly, in the Spanish context, the issue was complicated and embittered by the enforced militarization of the anarchist militias under Stalinist control. Nevertheless, the war seemed to pose Spanish anarchists with a similar problem to the Makhnovists: to fight a campaign of heroic indiscipline or one of hierarchical efficiency. Some anarchists believe that Makhno misstated the problem facing revolutionaries. The question was not how to organize a guerrilla army, but how to fight a guerrilla war. Advocates of guerrilla action argue that guerrilla warfare does not demand militarization or specialization. Indeed, reflecting on the defeat of the Spanish revolution Peirats defended the principle of guerrilla warfare precisely because it offered anarchists an opportunity to struggle in a manner that was consistent with their principles. The lesson of the revolution, he argued, was that the anarchists should have organized themselves more like the Mahknovists had done prior to the formal militarization of the insurgent army. The revolution failed not because of militarization as such, but because anarchists adopted a strategy that made militarization more or less inevitable. They wrongly attempted to fight a trench war. The failure to consider the possibility of ‘civil war by organizing support bases for guerrilla actions in the countryside and the mountains’ played straight into the hands of the enemy. 37 The strength of guerrilla warfare, he argued, is its potential to confront the enemy on terms that revolutionaries are best equipped to fight. Peirats believed that the guerrilla warfare demanded organization, but it was of a qualitatively different kind from that suggested by Makhno: the success of the strategy depended on the establishment of strong links between urban and rural areas and the development of reliable supply systems and bases for guerrilla training. For as long as anarchists did not enjoin their enemies in formal battle, they could avoid the need to organize in
142 anarchism: a beginner’s guide Anarchist insurrection: summary Civil war enlightened agitators catalyst mass reaction insurrection by (exploited/ oppressed General ‘heroic’ acts alienated) strike (inc. terrorism) guerrillaism Guerilla war formal or perhaps in regimented military units and consequently improve the chances of revolutionary success. Australian anarchists echo Peirats’ point: … in certain conditions, as in peasant-based societies, it would be necessary to set up armed bases in the country-side. But the aim here would not be to carry out “exemplary” clashes with the military but to protect the political infrastructure to enable the spreading of ideas to continue. This may involve some guerrilla tactics but it cannot mean a strategy of guerrillaism. Nor can it mean the creation of a separate, hierarchical, military organization, which is not only anti-libertarian but is also vulnerable and inefficient. 38 Anarchists might never be sure that guerrilla leaders will not develop a taste for power. But Peirats’ defence suggests that guerrilla war can be waged in a manner that is consistent with anarchist aims. practical anarchism The leading insight of practical anarchism is that revolution can be achieved by evolutionary means. The strategy, which is associated with writers like Colin Ward and Paul Goodman, is designed to bring anarchism into everyday life. Ward argues that the strategy – which he calls anarchy in action – is ‘an updating footnote to Kropotkin’s Mutual Aid’. In other words, it is an attempt to show that anarchy is a current in our everyday lives and that the job of the anarchist is to help individuals and groups to express their natural tendencies. The primary difference between this and other anarchist strategies for revolution is that it does not demand a final rupture with the state in the form of civil war or insurrection. Ward’s anarchism has
Page 2 and 3:
anarchism a beginner’s guide
Page 4 and 5:
anarchism a beginner’s guide ruth
Page 6 and 7:
contents Acknowledgements vii intro
Page 8:
acknowledgements A number of people
Page 11 and 12:
2 anarchism: a beginner’s guide a
Page 13 and 14:
4 anarchism: a beginner’s guide r
Page 15 and 16:
6 anarchism: a beginner’s guide a
Page 17 and 18:
8 anarchism: a beginner’s guide w
Page 19 and 20:
10 anarchism: a beginner’s guide
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
chapter two anarchist rejections of
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
chapter three anarchy We have alway
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100: 90 anarchism: a beginner’s guide
Page 149: 140 anarchism: a beginner’s guide
Page 179 and 180: chapter five concluding remarks Stu
Page 184 and 185: index Page numbers in italic denote
Page 186 and 187: index 177 Farrow, Lynne 119 fascism
Page 188 and 189: index 179 and state 30, 45-6, 50, 5
show all

o_195qg5dto17o4rbc85q1ge61i84a.pdf

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?