A-Infos (en) Freedom 6403 8 Feb, 2003 - What anarchism means to me

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I'm an anarchist because I oppose capitalism and 
believe there's a fairer, more sustainable way of 
organising social and economic life. Anarchism is 
about opposing power - whether the power of the state, 
the multinational corporation, the grinding power of 
the ruling class over the working class or the power 
inherent in patriarchy, racism, homophobia and the 
exploitation of the environment and of non-human 
animals. Anarchism points to a brighter world based 
on co-operation and mutual aid which, for me, is the 
basis of human and natural life. Unlike Marxism, 
anarchism is rooted in everyday life, as Peter 
Kropotkin pointed out in his book Mutual Aid a 
century ago.

The bottom line for me is class, but class isn't the 
whole story. What excites me about anarchists and 
anarchism is the sheer diversity of their thought and 
action. From prisoner support to animal liberation, 
from solidarity with workers in dispute to setting up a 
food co-op, from social centres to LET Schemes, from 
libertarian education to experimental art, it's all going 
on somewhere. Anarchism might ebb and flow over 
time, but it never stands still and it never 
compromises.

But anarchism also means frustration, at least for me! 
There's lots of great stuff going on, but we must try to 
co-ordinate our activities more. At last year's 
Anarchist Bookfair (held in London every October), 
framed activist Mark Barnsley said what a shame it 
was that anarchists only meet up once a year, and then 
to flog stuff to each other. He was right. We have to 
get together more. Other things we must do: raise our 
profile in the labour movement and find a way to 
bridge the (perceived) gap between the 'green' and 'red 
and black' ends of the movement. Freedom newspaper 
has an important role to play in this.

Looking back, I've always been a libertarian. But it's 
only in the last seven years I've called myself an 
anarchist. I had a rather varied political journey to 
where I am today, encompassing (in chronological 
order) the IMG, the SWP, the Labour Party Ğ this last 
included a spell working in the House of Commons and 
being a local councillor, enough to turn anyone 
anarchist - and, most recently, the Green Party (don't 
ask!). My friends joke that the reason I'm an anarchist 
is because I've tried everything else.

Nowadays, anarchism has come out from behind the 
shadow of Marxism. The world over, the black flag can 
be seen on demonstrations. Anarchism is growing 
because both Marxism and liberal democracy have 
failed to deliver the goods for working people. It's 
increasingly clear that the world's problems won't be 
solved by the state or by voting for politicians to run 
it. To me, anarchism simply means a better world. God 
knows, we need one.
Richard Griffin

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