Taking a look into the archives of Freedom in November 1912 as a wave of militant, non-hierarchical trade unionism reached its high water mark.
Syndicalism – a working-class conception of socialism
Tag: britain
Tom Mann and the industrial union movement
A legendary trade unionist and communist of his era, Mann (1856-1941) was by turns an inspirational and frustrating figure for the syndicalist and anarchist movements in Britain. This is the first of an upcoming monthly series looking back on working class struggle in the early 1910s in the run-up to World War One, through articles
Lessons of the Covid mutual aid projects
In the early days of the pandemic, Freedom put out a call to found mutual aid groups for helping people struggling under lockdown, which went spectacularly viral. Anna K, one of the original organisers of the phenomenon, reflects on lessons learned. Back in April 2020, I offered five thoughts on the successes and failures of
Death of a royal exposes weaknesses in the British establishment
I don’t think anyone really knows what Britain is anymore, not least the people in charge of steering the country. The death of Philip Mountbatten last week highlighted its odd nature. Suddenly, the feudal backbone was exposed, with the BBC notably behaving like a state broadcaster in some absolute regime. The political parties ceased campaigning
The beloved farmer cries out, but no-one hears…
As summer comes around it’s time for Britain’s annual “farmers whinging about labour shortages” article harvest. And this year it could be curtains for Wimbledon strawberries (cue gasp of middle class outrage). Just for a change of pace our latest cash crop crisis is being partially blamed on Brexit, with impacts from falling pound purchasing
Towards a timeline of anarchism in Britain
In his 1978 book Slow Burning Fuse, which Freedom republished in 2014 and will be reprinting at this year’s London Anarchist Bookfair with full index, historian John Quail put together a unique timeline covering the period 1880-1930, picking out some of the key moments in the history of the British anarchist movement. A similar timeline
As Yemen starves, Britain is arming Saudi bombing runs
Campaigners are challenging British complicity in the Yemen carnage, writes Campaign Against Arms Trade spokesperson Andrew Smith. March 26th marked two years since the Saudi-led bombardment of Yemen began. Since then, 10,000 people have been killed and millions have been left without access to vital infrastructure, clean water or electricity. An estimated 17 million people are
Frack the system: The UK’s hydrocarbon threat
With the fracking industry poised to attempt its largest assault on communities across the country to date, and what would be its most significant advance in this country since 2011 if not resisted, it seems an appropriate time to take a look back at what has led to this threat we are facing and examine
British Hospitality
Joseph walked up to the front door of Number Seven with some foreboding. He’d had a hard trip, having been chased down the road by thugs and mugged by the taxi service. He knew he looked a bit bedraggled, as someone who’d run out of money and been forced to walk a long way in driving rain
A divided Kingdom: Thoughts on Brexit
The not so United Kingdom has voted to leave the EU. It honestly doesn’t matter what individuals did with their ballots, or why. On a purely intellectual level each of the three options (to leave, remain or abstain) were valid. However we do not live on a purely intellectual plane and this result has very tangible
Recent Articles
“People are disillusioned, they believe Lebanon’s fate is corruption and war”
Interview with Lebanese activist Maroun, an active participant in the 2019 popular uprising in Lebanon ~ From Aftoleksi ~ Let’s pick up the thread from 2019, when many young people in Western countries heard about the Lebanese world for the first time.
Athens: La Zone, a new libertarian space in Exarcheia
“Steeped in history and struggles, this neighbourhood belongs to its inhabitants and occupants”, say founders Eva and Nicolas ~ Patrick Schindler, Le Monde Libertaire ~ Opening a new activist space in Exarcheia has a significant dimension.
The punk scene as a new proletariat
In part 2 of “On the practices of radical punk” we meet Abbie Hoffman and discuss Maximum Rock’n’Roll and the uses of Do-It Yourself culture ~ Alex Ratcharge ~ In the 1960s and 1970s, anarchist Abbie Hoffman was one of the founders of the Youth International Party, whose members called themselves “Yippies”.
Their internationalism, and ours
Freedom’s winter edition highlights solidarity across borders, then and now Internationalism’s a twisty beast, prone to making fools of us all.
Martinique revolt grows, airport invaded
France declares curfew as second overseas territory erupts with protests over failing services and high cost of living ~ From Contre Attaque ~ A brand new gendarmerie barracks was completely burned down in Martinique on October 9, and yesterday the island’s airport that was invaded by protesters, preventing planes from landing.
