How the Russian anarcho-syndicalist became a political journalist, ended up in the Red Army, and helped organise Kropotkin’s funeral ~ Nikolai Gerasimov ~ In the 1930s, Chicago was the capital of American gangsters. The mafia gang of Paul Ricca and Tony Accardo successfully continued the work of Al Capone—they controlled the entire shadow economy of
Founded in 1922, the International Workers’ Association (IWA) is celebrating its centenary this month. Over the last century it has represented many millions of people, faced repression from State forces and bounced back from the precipice. It has fought for the abolition of capitalism and the State, the implementation of libertarian communism and full workers’
The initiative by Liverpool SolFed offers stripped-down must-knows about getting by amid State incompetence and bosses’ greed, from furloughs to care rights, sick pay to self-employment. The group will be regularly updating the guide here and welcome people getting involved in the project. The version below was released on April 21st 2020. The current coronavirus
The anarcho-syndicalist international, founded in 2018, looks at workplace struggle in its branches worldwide and calls for the building of new forms of solidarity amid the lockdowns. With the corona crisis, the world has suddenly entered a new phase of intense class struggle. This is impressively documented by a map of (for the most part) wildcat strikes
In this classic explainer of trade unionism without bureaucrats from 1952, Philip Sansom (pictured) considers the thinking behind anarcho-syndicalism before giving an example from the time — the fascinating and little-known Mutual Aid Society of the Euston railwaymen. The trouble with most theories is that they have so little relationship with the facts. One can
The bizarre confrontation saw two men, who have been accused of ripping off one of their staff in a wages dispute, hold up traffic while throwing an almighty tantrum involving smashed furniture, shirtless pushing and rolling on the floor as they demanded that the Solidarity Federation (SolFed) stop picketing them. The owners of CJ Barbers
Following Ash Sarkar’s recent “I’m literally a communist” moment on Good Morning Britain, there’s been a lot of fairly messy attempts by media names to explain what communism is — hopefully the following will help them out (apologies for the elderly Drake meme). From Matthew Parris suggesting “communism means State control of the means of production,
The first reports are coming in from the Foundational Congress for a New International — an effort to draw together some of the biggest syndicalist unions worldwide. Update, May 13th: The new name for the international is reportedly the Confederación Internacional del Trabajo (International Confederation of Labour). Besides the CNT (Spain), USI (Italy) and FAU (Germany),
Anarcho-syndicalists in Liverpool linked to Liverpool Solfed have recently opened a new campaign to fight bad working conditions in the city’s hospitality sector, following on from similar successful efforts in Brighton. The group said in a launch statement: The hospitality industry, which includes workplaces like pubs, restaurants, hotels, canteens, etc. has an important presence in
A member of the Bristol Care Workers Network reflects on their experiences organising in healthcare. I work in a community mental health team in a large town north of Bristol. Morale in my team was low and this was being made worse by staff lacking access to training and supervision; supervision is important in mental
The proscription is part of a wider push to stifle dissent in an increasingly authoritarian Britain ~ Kevin Blowe ~ The repression of political dissent in Britain has been escalating for years: first against Black Lives Matter and environmental campaigners and now the Palestine solidarity movement.
Without the promise of a people near revolt, demonstrations that inconvenience no-one can easily be brushed aside ~ Sourdough ~ On June 14 across the US and several other countries, protests took place under the title of No Kings.
The great geographer and theorist of anarchist communism was part of a radical milieu that engaged a wide range of social issues, from capitalism and colonialism to free love and animal rights ~ Spencer Beswick ~ In his classic essay “On Vegetarianism” (1901), Élisée Reclus wrote a stirring defense of it as an ethical and
His compelling and realistic revolutionary vision shows the preconditions for a liberated world ~ John P Clark ~ Elisée Reclus (1830-1905) was one of the foremost geographers of his age, a major figure in anarchist political thought, and a lifelong revolutionary who played an active role in the Paris Commune and the First International.
For the great anarchist geographer, anarchy was at play in every natural relationship grounded in solidarity ~ Fabio Carnevali ~ Reclus was the anarchist who “never commanded anyone, and never will”, as his younger friend Kropotkin said of him, as well as the geographer for whom many important scientists—including Charles Darwin—mobilised when he risked being
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