Pirates – the end of an illusion

From Ostrava Anarchist Federation

The Czech Pirate Party, which until recently held the hopes of some reformist anarchists, has ended up in the dustbin of history. What lessons can we learn from this?

As a collective of the Ostrava Anarchist Federation, we have long opposed the tendencies of some leftists and anti-capitalists who saw potential in cooperation with the state and capitalism . The words of the Pirate Vice President about “infiltration of the system” already sounded funny back then, and when the Czech Pirates succeeded in the parliamentary elections, it was clear to us how it would turn out.

A voice from Ukraine: “It’s time to organize”

From Takku
August 2, 2024

In the end of July 2024 an anarchist member of Ukrainian armed forces shared their thoughts with Takku as follows.

My name is Ljosha. I lived in Sweden before the war, but I came to Ukraine after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Together with my comrades, I wanted to develop anarchist organizing and activities, to defend the Ukrainian people and nature, and to strengthen the anarchist movement in the revolutionary struggle.

Keith Nathan (1948-2023) A critical assessment

From libcom, by Nick Heath, March 9, 2023

A short article on the political trajectory of Keith Nathan active in the UK anarchist movement in the 1960s-1970s.

Keith Nathan played an important role within the anarchist movement in Britain in the 1960s and 1970s. What follows is a critical assessment of his political trajectory, an assessment that I hope will be soon as honest, even if some may see it as brutal.

Anarchy Bang: Introducing Episode 37 – Criticism/Self-Criticism

From Anarchy Bang

This week we are going to talk about a hypothetical topic of criticism and how it lives in the world as a political phenomenon. On the one hand we have the ideal way in which we should learn from our mistakes and on the other we have a toxic political phenomenon that descends from Maoism. How do we navigate the facts and need of intelligent, sensitive criticism in our work while also recognizing that many of the same people who are those we need to do criticism with are also the people who are likely to hurt, harm, or destroy us.

TOTW: let's try this again, on criticism

First off, I really like good criticism. To me it a sign of someone paying attention and thinking something through. Of course, really, a good compliment can be that too, but even thoughtful, articulate compliments have to get through the fog of "people are just nice," "it's only acceptable to say something kind," etc., so they're more likely to miss that sweet spot of good feedback, when the person receiving it has to step back and think about things (at least a little) differently.

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