Grenfell: Because they were poor
A member of the Anarchist Federation writes on guilt and the ever-rising death count in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.
“The people who died and lost their homes – this happened to them because they are poor” ~ Akala, rapper and poet, local resident.
“Regeneration is a euphemism for ethnic and class cleansing” ~Kensington resident and writer Ishmahil Blagrove.
Guilty: Boris Johnson. When Mayor of London Johnson… Continue reading
John Bull believers face a rude awakening
Iain McKay writes on the collapse of the Tory economic plan and its dire “solutions” to the looming troubles of Brexit
On every level Thatcherism is recognised to have failed, from the broken housing market, to railways unfit for purpose, a dysfunctional labour market etc. Or more correctly, the reality is being admitted but the root causes are being carefully avoided.
But how have the electorate acted? Though there has… Continue reading
Anti-democratic values: Making the case for consensus
In this essay written for the June C4SS Mutual Exchange Symposium, Derek Wittorff argues that the left’s focus on democracy and a falling off of interest in consensus-based approaches is short-sighted, and pushes even anarchists down paths of hierarchical control.
Democracy: the universal war cry of justice. We’re told by the left — both moderate and radical — that all socio-political problems almost always arise from… Continue reading
Notes on the 2017 General Election Campaign
In his latest column, Jon Bigger muses on one of the weirdest general election spectacles in living memory.
This has been a remarkable general election, whatever the result (I’m writing this the day before the UK votes). In my adult lifetime there hasn’t been such a difference between the two main parties and there hasn’t been such an exciting election. I feel amazed and dismayed by my adoration at… Continue reading
Case study: A campaign over insecure work
Liverpool Solfed writes about its campaign against as the firm attempts to ape companies like Deliveroo and Uber in casualising jobs into a self-employed “gig economy” model
At Easter, Liverpool-SolFed made a call out to protest against working conditions at Sandemans, a company which offers “Free Tours” in Liverpool and across Europe.
“Free Tour” does not mean that guides are volunteers. In Sandeman’s case they are ‘self-employed workers’… Continue reading
Anarchists analyse Brazil’s political earthquake
In the following essay members of Coordinación Anarquista Brasileña, a member group of the Anarkismo network, analyses the series of mass protests, riots and rebellions which have rocked the State and its elites in recent months.
Brazil is experiencing a political earthquake, exposing the rottenness of the country’s elite and further weakening the bonds that hold them in power. The orchestrated operation that led to a recording between… Continue reading
Why I’m not voting – I represent myself
Jon Bigger reflects on his experiences, as a voter, non-voter and even Class War candidate, with general elections
Two years ago today (May 7th) I turned up at a polling station in Croydon and put a cross next to my name. This time round I’m not even on the electoral register. I’ve had an odd relationship with the ballot box and at a time where I see anarchists discussing voting… Continue reading
Venezuela: State Power — when the Left is the problem
As protests rise once again on the streets of Caracas, we are witnessing a struggle between the conservative Venezuelan bourgeoisie removed from control of the State apparatus and an emerging middle class which uses the State as a lever of accumulation, writes Raúl Zibechi.
What is happening in Venezuela has no connection with a “revolution” or “socialism” or the “defence of democracy,” nor even with the hackneyed… Continue reading
Chile: Women and the pensions backlash
Following a new wave of protests against Chile’s Pinochet-era privatised pensions system, María Carrasco of libertarian communist journal Solidaridad looks at why women have particular reason to stand up for a new way.
Major rallies have been ongoing since last year against the six private for-profit funds which currently hold Chile’s £122 billion in assets but pay just £320 a month to poorer pensioners.
When we speak… Continue reading
Radical Mapuche Struggle: Ancestral resistance against the State and capital
The fight for autonomy of the mapuche peoples in Chile has much to teach us, argues Contra Toda Autoridad in this article, originally written for Issue 4 of the collective’s journal and translated by Avalanche.
Contra Toda Autoridad tries to establish points of connection with the radical and anti-state expressions in the historical struggle of the mapuche . Unveiling some differences with their struggle strategies… Continue reading
