critique

Farewell to Life, Farewell to Love… Ukraine, War and Self-Organisation

from ddt21.noblogs.org by Tristan Leoni, May 8, 2022.

What is to be done… under the bombing?

We experience neither the life of the Ukrainians, nor the situation of anarchists or communists living in Ukraine. We do not know what must be done there, we cannot pass judgement on their activity, because, whatever we think, we do not know how we would react in their place. With historical hindsight, it may seem easy to assess a situation because we know how it unfolded and ended. But it is truly impossible to know what “internationalist” stand we would have taken in August 1914 or June 1940. That said, should our Ukrainian comrades be immune from criticism just because they are the ones involved ? What they do is of course their own concern; but the way they understand and justify their activity, their discourse which is echoed abroad by other groups, that at the very least warrants discussion.

Some Initial Thoughts on the Concept of Revolution

revolution is spooky

from Staring Into the Abyss by Tom Nomad

A Review of Specters of Revolt

For the last little bit of time I have been working through some thoughts on the concept of revolution. These are still very much in formation, and will probably be the subject of at least part of a book I plan on working on starting this fall. In doing research for the text I came across a text called Specters of Revolt, by Richard Gilman-Opalsky, and had some thoughts that seemed worth sharing, even as nothing more than an opening salvo in this discussion.

Another reply on Ukraine, war and class war

from avtonom Submitted by mooncalf on 14 May, 2022

A continuation of a debate over anarchist positions on Ukraine that previously ran on It's Going Down:

It’s good to see that my article on Ukraine and anti-war/class war positions has provoked a few responses, and I hope that discussion will continue elsewhere. By this point, the most important arguments have probably been made, so there’s a danger that diminishing returns and petty point-scoring might set in; but for what it’s worth, here’s a few comments on the two responses.

Thoughts on Anarchist History, May Day and the Problem with Left Unity

protest

From It's Going Down

Full title: Erasing the Black Flag: Thoughts on Anarchist History, May Day and the Problem with Left Unity

Critical thoughts on the erasure of anarchist history from May Day celebrations and how this relates to a critique of “left-unity.”

By: C. McCombs

Coffee with Comrades Episode 165: "Toward an Anarchist Critique of Psychiatry"

Coffee with Comrades Episode 165: "Toward an Anarchist Critique of Psychiatry"

From Coffee with Comrades

Chris, a psychotherapist with sixteen years in the field, joins me to critique the psych profession. We explore the history of psychology and psychiatric coercion, the violence and carceral logic implicit in locking away the "insane." We discuss the ways in which neurotypicality is constructed to serve the hegemony of the ruling class. Chris and I examine the ways that capital and the state regiment our minds, cajoling, commanding, and controling. We also touch on the emerging concept of "mad liberation." It's a pretty wide-ranging conversation. I hope you enjoy it.

Reflection & Reorganization

Reflection & Reorganization

From Black Rose Anarchist Federation

Black Rose/Rosa Negra Resumes Public Activity

In 2020 Black Rose / Rosa Negra (BRRN) began experiencing serious internal political conflict over the direction of our organization, its strategy, and its structures. The organizational turmoil produced by this conflict was greatly exacerbated by the psychological, social, and political strain brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and the George Floyd Uprising.

It Could Happen Here: A Review

Anarchy-ish: comfortably relegated to the realm of the hypothetical, the reassuring plausible deniability of speculative fiction, with a cast of do-gooders to assuage liberal listeners.

from Anathema

While only charlatans confidently predict what will happen, it's always interesting to explore what could happen. This is especially true if the coulds being explored are pertinent to the unfolding of struggles against the State and Capital. In the past couple of years, the podcaster Robert Evans has become known for this kind of exploration in his popular podcast It Could Happen Here. Podcasts, especially non-anarchist podcasts, do not normally get much attention in anarchist newspapers like Anathema. A review of Evans's podcast could seem out of place in these pages.

For Those Sick Of Biting Their Tongues...

For Those Sick Of Biting Their Tongues...

On a casual stroll among the rows of houses and storefronts during my all-too-short shift break, I noticed for a moment how the weatherbeaten jumble of townhouses jammed together from block to block would occasionally – and troublingly, increasingly – give way to the drab monoliths of modern condo apartments. Although so common now it has become unremarkable, upon meditation one cannot help but recognize that these bland structures serve as the symbolic and the material manifestation the violent force of capital attempting to fully dominate and shape our lives.

Class War 13/2021

from Class War

Class War 13/2021: “Rojava Revolution”? “Anti-State”? “Anti-Capitalist”? Or a new mystification?

[T]he famous “Rojava revolution” is by no means part of the revolutionary “anti-capitalist” and “anti-state” dynamics. After all, it is nothing more than a local variant of the “Bolivarian Revolution” or “21st century socialism” controlled and limited by a powerful propaganda machine combining “libertarian municipalism”, Marxism-Leninism and “national liberation”. Those who deny this conclusion today are not slow to understand or poorly informed. They are simply followers of reform of Capital, its repainting on “red”, adherents of the strategy of changing everything so that the essential remains the same.

A Communist Critique of Pittsburgh’s Anarchist Milieu

welcome to Pittsburgh

From Filler PGH | Submission from Denise Bosynak received on 07.12.21

In reading the recent piece submitted to Filler about murals motivated by socialist realism point to an ideology that is inherently reformist and demobilizes people, I could not help but feel that this was a strange (albeit very literary and beautiful written) vague post.

Eric Laursen Owes Me a Lamp

from It's Going Down

Eric Laursen Owes Me a Lamp: Some Reactions to ‘The Operating System: An Anarchist Theory of the Modern State’

In the meantime, I’d love it if he reimbursed me for the lamp he made me break, or better yet throw that amount of money (it was $14.99 plus tax) onto the commissary fund of one of the hundreds of real people who will get real time for doing some beautiful real shit that really did happen.

Against Community, Towards Supportive Friendship

from https://raddle.me/f/Anarchism/128458/against-community-towards-supportiv...

by ziq

As long as I've been around other anarchists, I've witnessed an unremitting reverence for the sanctity of community. The idea of community is held in such high regard by anarchists that it's eerily reminiscent of USA liberals paying fealty to the "sacred ground" of their nation's capitol. Community is something consecrated and unassailable to anarchists. It's the bond that binds us to our fellow true believers. It gives us belonging, direction, purpose, safety, all those good things. But does it really?

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - critique