A-Infos (en) Britain, Anarchist Federation Organise #67 The politics of the anarchist federation: a tribute By Brian Morris

In an important academic study of contemporary anarchism Karen Goaman 
(2002) focussed exclusively on avant-garde individualists and 
anarcho-primitivists. She implied, quite misleadingly, that these 
"currents" represented contemporary anarchism, and were, moreover, the 
only ones that engaged in radical "activism". What was interesting about 
her study was that she emphasized the importance of anarchist 
periodicals, for they created a sense of community, and, by drawing on 
past traditions, re-kindled and kept alive an alternative vision of 
social life. Unfortunately, by focussing exclusively on 
anarcho-primitivism and the avant-garde (falsely equated with anarchism) 
Goaman neglected to mention those anarchist groups focussed around such 
important periodicals as "Direct Action", "Black Flag", "Class War", 
"Red and Black Revolution", "Rebel Worker" and "Freedom". Even more 
striking, given her emphasis on the Situationists and the avant-garde 
(the focus of her thesis) she completely fails to mention the Anarchist 
Federation. Yet over the last two decades the Anarchist (Communist) 
Federation has been actively engaged in contemporary struggles - whether 
relating to struggles around the workplace or community, environmental 
issues or the anti-capitalist movement- as well as regularly producing a 
splendid anarchist magazine Organise! and several important pamphlets.

As the Anarchist Federation is this year celebrating its 20th 
anniversary it might be useful here to offer my own reflections on this 
periodical, appropriately titled with the active verb "Organise!" - for 
revolutionary anarchism.

Although the magazine openly advocates a specific form or strand of 
anarchism, that of anarchist communism and revolutionary class struggle, 
what I think is quite refreshing about Organise! is that it has always 
been free of sectarian angst and vituperation. Thus while engaging in 
constructive debates and critiques of other forms of anarchism, it has 
been singularly free of the personal invective and abuse that mars other 
anarchist periodicals, especially in the United States. Aiming not only 
to develop anarchist ideas, but to offer a clear anarchist viewpoint on 
contemporary issues and debates, what is also significant about 
Organise! is the truly broad coverage that it has always offered to its 
readership. Thus over the last decade or so Organise! has offered 
critical reflections on many different issues and struggles, both at a 
local level and in relation to the British state. It has then kept us 
informed about worker's struggles in Britain, and has offered 
enlightening reflections on such issues as the Criminal Justice Bill, 
advertising - "the poetry of capitalism", on racism in Tower Hamlets, 
and on the relation of squatters and travellers to the economic crisis

But what has always appealed to me about the magazine is that, within 
its twenty or so pages, it has invariably carried one or more articles 
on resistance movements or class struggles in other parts of the world. 
Organise! has therefore always offered its readers an internationalist 
perspective, in reporting on the world-wide impact of global capitalism. 
Thus there have been informative articles on, for example, worker's 
struggles in Japan, the resistance of native peoples in the Philippines 
and elsewhere to the intrusion of mining corporations, the terror in 
East Timor, class war in Argentina, and on the many issues relating to 
the politics of such countries as Cuba, China, Somali, Mexico and South 
Africa.

Yet although Organise! has been centrally concerned with class struggles 
at home and abroad, it has never neglected other important fields of 
struggle, particularly those relating to gender, the environment, and 
wider cultural issues. Reading some anarchist texts and periodicals one 
might be forgiven for assuming that the anarchist movement only involves 
men, either academics or macho types. What then has been important about 
Organise! is that it has always been involved in gender issues. It has 
often focussed on women anarchists like Ito Noe, or on issues, such as 
abortion, that specifically concern women. Informative articles on 
anarchism and sex, on women and the Spanish revolution, and on 
pornography and the sex industry have expressed this interest in gender 
issues.

With regard to ecology Organise! has always taken a balanced approach. 
On the one hand we have anarchist periodicals like "Anarchy" and "Green 
Anarchist" which embrace primitivism with a fundamentalist ardour, and 
completely ignore class struggles, workers and urban problems, while on 
the other hand many anarchist journals and newspapers have tended to 
treat ecology as of marginal interest. In contrast Organise! has always 
treated the ecological crisis and environmental issues as important 
topics, while at the same time supporting class struggles. Social 
justice and defending the environment are, for the Anarchist Federation, 
intrinsically linked. Thus Organise! has always supported environmental 
campaigns, whether in relation to Twyford Down or in supporting the 
London Green Peace activists against the McDonald corporation. Equally 
important is that over the past decade it has provided useful critiques 
of primitivism and deep ecology as well as illuminating discussions of 
such issues as the politics of water, deforestation, nature conservation 
(anti-people or anti-capitalism?). public transport and land ownership. 
The pamphlet "Ecology and Class: Where there's Brass, there's Muck" 
draws together many of these earlier articles, and gives a very useful 
introduction to ecological issues, viewed from an anarchist communist 
perspective. The pamphlet is informative, well-researched and lucid, and 
covers a wide range of topics from biotechnology and global warming to 
primitivism and the anti-roads movement.

Equally important, though having a central focus on class struggles, and 
critical of the kind of scholasticism that is all too common in 
Academia, articles in Organise! often deal specifically with theoretical 
debates and wider cultural issues. Thus over the decade there have been 
articles on Keynesian economics, intellectual property rights, the 
politics of the Socialist Worker's Party, Malcolm X and Black 
nationalism, mutual aid and evolution, cultural identity, moral panics 
and children and god and religion.

In retrospect, it is of interest to read the early articles on Tony 
Blair and Saddam Hussein. These show a good deal of prescience. The 
article on Blair entitled "Labour Pains" (1995) reflects on Blair's 
pamphlet on "Socialism" (no less), indicating how wishy-washy it is, and 
how Blair's politics are akin to those of Thatcher. How true!

Finally, there are the aspects of the magazine Organise! that have 
always appealed to me - the political cartoons, the support for 
anarchist prisoners, the obituaries and biographical vignettes of 
revolutionary anarchists, some known, some unknown, and the book 
reviews. Though often critical, such reviews express a generous spirit. 
There is also, usually, an engaging letters page.

Unlike some pretentious anarcho-primitivists the Anarchist Federation 
has always sought to critically develop anarchist communist ideas. So it 
has never saw the need to ridicule and dismiss the ideas of an earlier 
generation of anarchists as "obsolete". It has therefore drawn 
insightfully on the life and work of such social anarchists as Bakunin, 
Kropotkin, Makhno and Durruti.

Asked to respond to what the Anarchist Federation has done over the past 
decade or so, especially in relation to its magazine, one can only say 
that Organise! has been a beacon of light in a troubled world. Long may 
it prosper.

Reference: KAREN GOAMAN The Old World is Behind You: The Situationists 
and beyond in contemporary anarchist currents. Ph.D.Thesis University of 
London 2002
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