[mobglob-discuss] [Fwd] "Against Organizationalism" Editorial - Anarchy Magazine

Thu Dec 5 10:28:01 PST 2002

Actually, I thought it was pretty 'bang-on', thanks Tom, but I can 
completely understand why some would hate it. In any event, only my opinion 
and not the start of a new debate.

Chris Shaw

>From: "Liz" <yashi at direct.ca>
>Reply-To: mobglob-discuss at lists.resist.ca
>To: <mobglob-discuss at lists.resist.ca>
>Subject: Re: [mobglob-discuss] [Fwd] "Against Organizationalism"  Editorial 
>- Anarchy Magazine
>Date: Wed, 4 Dec 2002 21:02:49 -0800
>
>This is bullshit if I ever read it.
>Liz
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Tom_Childs at Douglas.BC.CA <Tom_Childs at Douglas.BC.CA>
>To: rad-green at lists.econ.utah.edu <rad-green at lists.econ.utah.edu>
>Cc: project-x at lists.resist.ca <project-x at lists.resist.ca>;
>mobglob-discuss at lists.resist.ca <mobglob-discuss at lists.resist.ca>
>Date: Wednesday, December 04, 2002 5:42 PM
>Subject: [mobglob-discuss] [Fwd] "Against Organizationalism" Editorial -
>Anarchy Magazine
>
>
> >Some interesting thoughts here from the editor of Anarchy Magazine.  TC
> >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> >  ----- Forwarded message: -----
> >Delivered-To: infoshop-news at flag.blackened.net
> >From: "Jason McQuinn" <jmcquinn at coin.org>
> >To: "infoshop-news" <infoshop-news at infoshop.org>
> >Subject: [Infoshop News] "Against Organizationalism"
> >  --Editorial from Anarchy magazine #54/Fall-Winter 2002-03
> >Date: Wed, 4 Dec 2002 00:47:36 -0600
> >
> >
> >>From Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed #54/Fall-Winter
> >2002-03: http://www.anarchymag.org/54/editorial_organization.html
> >
> >
> >Against Organizationalism:
> >Anarchism as both Theory and Critique of Organization
> >
> > One of the most annoying and oft repeated cliches of leftist political
> >rhetoric concerns the unquestioned imperative for nonspecific, generic
> >"organization." Whatever else might define the left, it has always and
> >consistently called for the creation and development of formal
> >organizations that are supposed to represent and lead the masses or the
> >working class (or these days often the appropriate identity-group or
> >"minority"). Of course, when leftists leave the realm of rhetoric and
> >enter the realm of practice, it becomes quite evident why the details of
> >organization are usually left unspecified. It's easy to say that
> >unorganized or disorganized people probably won't have much success
> >pursuing large, complex projects. But when the form of organization
> >actually proposed calls for a "transmission-belt" structure with an
> >explicit division between leaders and led, along with provisions to
> >discipline rank and file members while shielding leaders from
> >responsibility to those being led, more than a few people wise up to the
> >con game and reject it. Even the addition of a little democracy these
> >days isn't enough to disguise the stench of power politics.
> >
> > None of this is surprising to most anarchists, because the mainstream
> >left has been explicitly hierarchical, authoritarian and statist since
> >the time of the Jacobins and the French Revolution. However, even
> >anarchists-or at least the more leftist of anarchists-have not been
> >immune to organizational fetishism. From a genuine concern for helping
> >to create the conditions for the have-nots to take back their world, the
> >leftist organizational imperative is too often mistaken for a healthy
> >underlying strategy which has unfortunately been undermined and
> >discredited by unethical or power-hungry authoritarian leftists.
> >
> > It's true that the increasingly widespread disillusionment with formal
> >organization amongst genuine radicals is often a direct result of two
> >hundred years of counterproductive leftist practice. But leftist
> >organizational practice isn't just a good strategy corrupted by bad
> >personnel. The same organization-building strategies with more radical
> >theory and values grafted in place would continue to produce the same
> >type of self-defeating practice precisely because the underlying
> >problems are structural and not incidental. The cult of
> >organizationalism-in which the construction and enlargement of formal,
> >mass political and economic organizations take priority over the
> >encouragement and generalization of anarchist self-organization-directly
> >contradicts anarchist principles and goals. Organizationalism encourages
> >and produces authoritarian, hierarchical, and alienating practices
> >because it is based on the idea that people should be organized by
> >politically-conscious militants rather than the anarchist idea that
> >people must organize themselves for their own liberation.
> >
> > Historically, the anarchist idea, anarchist theory and the international
> >anarchist movement all originated in large degree in critical response to
> >the problems posed by radical organization. Yet, today, all too many left
> >anarchists are taking on the job of rehabilitating a highly problematic
> >organizationalist rhetoric and practice, relying only on superficial
> >criticisms of the explicitly authoritarian, statist left to prevent-they
> >hope-their own projects from duplicating the duplicity of the many
> >leftist disasters that litter revolutionary history.
> >
> > All anarchists differ from the political left in one central way:
> >anarchists propose individual and communal self-activity, self-direction
> >and self-organization as the only possible method for genuinely taking
> >control of our lives. The political left, on the contrary, proposes
> >organizing people as objects in order to gain the political power
> >necessary to change institutional social conditions. The more radical of
> >leftists will add that such change in institutional conditions can help
> >bring about the possibility that the masses will eventually develop
> >enough self-awareness to directly govern themselves. But this is, of
> >course, relegated to the indefinite future.
> >
> > Given the ongoing disintegration of the international left, it has
> >become ever more important for anarchists to rediscover and reconsider
> >the foundations of the anarchist movement in the anarchist theory and
> >critique of organization. As more leftists and ex-leftists drift into
> >the anarchist milieu, it becomes increasingly important to remember that
> >anarchism isn't merely a form of leftism without an explicit goal of
> >taking state power. The entire leftist political culture of
> >representation, hierarchical organization, heteronomous discipline and
> >the cult of leadership is contrary to the anarchist culture of autonomy,
> >free association, self-organization, direct action and personal
> >responsibility. The leftist practice of creating formal mass
> >organizations in order to build political power involves entirely
> >different assumptions and goals than the anarchist practice of
> >encouraging generalized self-initiated, self-directed activity.
> >
> > All the various forms of left anarchism involve attempted syntheses of
> >aspects of left organizationalism with aspects of anarchist organization.
> >And all of these attempted syntheses require some degree of sacrifice of
> >anarchist theory, practice and values in exchange for an anticipated
> >increase in ideological appeal or practical power. But anarchists will
> >always sacrifice their own principles at great risk. There have been
> >powerful left-anarchist syntheses that have made great practical
> >contributions towards revolt, insurrection and revolution at times in the
> >past: the heyday of anarcho-syndicalism around the turn of the 19th to
> >the 20th century being one. But these have always come at the price of
> >also diluting and confusing the anarchist side of the syntheses, which
> >has ultimately led to their defeat.
> >
> > In order to prevent further defeats, we can consciously base our 
>practice
> >on consistent principles of self-organization, always with as few
> >compromises as possible, and with a clear eye on our goals.
> >
> >Jason McQuinn, Editor
> >C.A.L. Press
> >POB 1446
> >Columbia, MO 65205-1446
> >USA
> >Alternative Press Review web site:
> >http://www.altpr.org
> >Anarchy magazine web site:
> >http://www.anarchymag.org
> >
> >
> >
> >Donate to Infoshop.org: http://www.infoshop.org/feed_infoshop.html
> >_______________________________________________
> >infoshop-news mailing list
> >infoshop-news at infoshop.org
> >http://www.infoshop.org/mailman/listinfo/infoshop-news
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >--
> >Tom Childs - Audio/Visual Resources
> >Douglas College Library
> >New Westminster, B.C. Canada
> >T: 604 527-5713 - library
> >T: 604 524-9316 - home
> >E: childst at douglas.bc.ca
> >U: BCGEU Local 703
> >W: http://www.globaljustice.ca
> >    "There's no way to delay, that trouble comin' everyday."
> > --Frank Zappa
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> >
>
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