[Shadow_Group] Reply to Green Anarchy

[shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca]

On Class Struggle: a Reply to Green Anarchy #18

  The first problem with the Green Anarchy Issue #18 with its so-called
"green" anarchist critique of class struggle is that it stereotypes working
people and those that are active in class struggle and tries to squeeze us
all into confined spaces even if they don't fit. Thus it is rather hard to
discuss real issues if you cannot get past the misconceptions.
  The first good example of this is in the review of the IWW paper, the
Industrial Worker. The reviewer states; "It is possible that the Industrial
Worker (IW) folks have seldom met any industrial workers," Over the years I
have written 35 articles for the IW
And I have work nearly 25 years in shipyards, and though I do not claim to
be anymore of a worker, or industrial worker, as any other worker, I am
without any doubt an industrial worker. And as to your claim that the IW,
"doesn't even question the various excesses of unions", it is clear you have
never read any of my articles.
  I guess maybe a good place to start is with the idea that only folks like
Green Anarchy care about the environmental condition of the world, speaks to
the damaging effects of the industrial system we live under and wants to do
something about it. I have no problem with folks that go out and try to stop
the damaging effects of the industrial system, be it by protest or direct
action, though some tactics I do not agree with. But these actions are only
placing your fingers in the leaking dike of the industrial rampage. Though
such actions are needed, in my view as I have written many times, the global
industrial onslaught must also be fought within industry by the workers. Why
do I say that? Because I do not believe we have the time to create fantasy
worlds, we must change industry as soon as possible and those with the
knowledge of the problems in industry and those that have the means to
create change are working people.
  Some things are rather simple, I wrote an article for the IW called,
"Environmentalism and the Maritime Industry", which was also printed in the
CNT paper in Spain and the publication Lonnsslaven in Norway. In that
article I outline what can be done now to prevent the plague of massive oil
spills that have been taking place. Yes, it would be easy just to say there
should no longer be any oil tankers, it would be easy to say there should be
no more logging of old growth forests, but the fact is that we are forced to
confront the immediacy of given situations, that is why people put their
bodies on the line to keep old growth trees from being cut down now and why
I have written and struggled to try to get ships more earth safe.
  Your answer to everything seems to be that we must just wait until we have
destroyed civilization, whatever the hell that means in the real world. I
like others do not give in to you the distinction of being the only ones
actively resisting environmental industrial destruction, or as some call it
being green anarchists. I have been a green anarchist, along with other
types of anarchist for many years.
  Next, you folks wrote that class is a social relationship that is true; it
is also an economic relationship. And that class is not the only form of
oppression and that there are others such as racism, sexism and other such
oppressions. Why do you seem to believe that class struggle anarchists do
not believe there are other forms of oppression? Not only are there many
other forms of oppression but also each form of oppression not only has its
own dynamics, but also they all have there own manifestations within class
struggle. Does that mean that I view class as the fundamental aspect of
global oppression and exploitation? No, in my view, eurocenticism is because
that is the process that pushed classism, racism, sexism, raping Mother
Earth, imperialism, and so on, into an international curse upon this plant.
  You, and others like you, attack those of us who activists in the area of
class struggle as if we were the enemies as are the capitalists. How often
folks like you call us "workerists" and "reductionists" always claiming that
we see nothing but class as an issue. But always with a double standard.
Such publications as the IW deals with issues such as racism and sexism far
more often than does such publications as the Earth First! Journal, where is
the trash talking of them because they don't deal with every issue? The fact
is people find areas of the struggle against oppression and exploitation and
focus on those areas. Because Earth First! Journal focuses on environmental
struggles does not mean it is racism and sexist because of that focus. And
because the IW reports mostly on labor struggles does not mean it should be
trashed for not being all things to all people.
  I believe that all oppressions and exploitations need to have struggles
that are confronting their oppressors.. And that the people involved in
those struggles have the social vision that, though each struggle is
important and should have its own self-determination, that there is common
ground among us all in that we are struggling against the same system and
ruling class. But I understand why folks like you attack us with such venom.
It is not the area of struggle that we are in but rather the fact that the
overwhelming majority of people who, both today and in history, call
themselves anarchists are on our side of these issues and your views only
represent a tiny faction.
  We who believe in organized class struggle are not one big mass of single
thoughts. There exist within our movements many different social visions. On
that I can only speak of my social vision. I believe in that the people who
are the victims of oppression and exploitation need to organize and resist
those things and to organize their self-determination as oppressed and
exploited people. I believe that when needed and asked that all other people
in struggle should act in direct solidarity with other struggles. To point
out that I do as I believe I have worked in solidarity with many different
struggles including working for Leonard Peltier for 25 years. I believe that
all people need to do that which the can to hold back the rape of Mother
Earth. Being that I am a worker, I believe that working people should
organize around day-to-day struggles with the bosses and to work for a
classless society. I believe that all communities of people who are not the
ruling class and their managers need to organize resistance against the
oppressive state and to build the means of their own self-reliance. I
believe people need to keep up the pressure on the ruling class by
continuous confrontation to its polices such as war, globalization and
repression.. I believe that all the forms of organization are not only a
means of resistance but also they are a means in creating a revolutionary
power greater than the power of the ruling class and at some point there
needs to be a social general strike where all refuse to provide the ruling
class with anything including the complete breaking away of dependence upon
capitalism and the state and refusal all orders from the rulers of any kind.
I believe that this organizing and revolutionary action needs to be
horizontal without any centralize targets for the counterrevolutionaries. I
believe that our revolution needs to be able to defend itself as we keep the
pressure on the counterrevolutionaries in order that they use up what
supplies they have that we will not let them resupply themselves because we
refuse all goods and services to them. And then we begin to create our new
anarchist world. Though it needs to be understood that anarchism is not a
final point in history but rather a continuous evolving process.
  Now I wish to say a few words about the vision of primitivists. The idea
that we are going to do away with all organized society and industry and all
of us go out and become hunters and gatherers would do more harm to Mother
Earth than what we have now because there is not enough left of the wild to
support everyone and people would then strip the wild to the born and then
those who have not died from folks killing each other over the little there
is to take, would starve to death. This idea would not rid us of classes
because the strong would rule over the weak. The fact is if some how there
was a beginning of the primitivists idea as soon as people got hungry there
would come about a new fascist state that would put down the rebellion. A
successful revolution has to have the direct means of fulfilling the needs
of the people because if it does not the people will turn against it. In
other words, given the realities of the world we live in the primitivist
vision is anti-environment and anti-people.
  That is not to say that we as a society cannot decentralize, live in close
balance with the natural world, I believe that this must happen. But it is a
direction gained through hard work and realistic collective planning.
  Now I may not in the same class as you high minded thinkers, I ain't
nothing more that lowly shipyard worker, but I have seen the struggles of
working folks for years first hand and I know what side I'm on.
Arthur J. Miller


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