A-Infos (en) Argentina, The Anarchist Political Organisation and its Functioning

An article from Organización Socialista Libertária from Argentina reflecting on anarchist 
organisation. ---- In several past issues of En la Calle [1], we discussed diverse aspects 
of organisation. In an introductory form and superficially giving an account of what we 
think about these questions, we can say, together with Errico Malatesta, that "the 
question is threefold: organisation as principle and condition of social life, today and 
in the future society; organisation of the anarchist party; and organisation of the 
popular forces and, especially, of the working masses for the resistance against the 
government and capitalism. " [2] ---- So, if we anarchists want our participation in the 
revolutionary process to reach a new society based on socialism and freedom, it is 
necessary for us to organise around our revolutionary project, uniting our collective 
strength, planning, sharing and organising militant labor, using all the means at our 
disposal.

That is, we meet in the libertarian political organisation in the "area of specific 
framework of the militant anarchist cadres who debate and agree on principles, programme, 
strategy and structure " [3], "the proper and exclusive resort of anarchist militants. " [4]

We address the relationship between the political organisation of anarchists and the 
popular organisations understanding that as socialists and libertarians we organise 
ourselves politically for our revolutionary objectives, as exploited and oppressed we 
organise with our equals for the defense of our interests and to fight for them, "whether 
economic (unions, cooperatives, unions of peasants, unemployed, etc..) claimed (human 
rights groups, against repression, student, etc.). or social and community (neighborhood 
organisations, a committee of neighbors, help centres and cultural, etc.). " [5]. Acting 
within the popular organisations is essential to our project, and in that respect 
Malatesta affirmed that "to side with the popular organisations of all types is the 
logical consequence of our fundamental ideas, and should therefore be part of our 
programme" [6]. In these organisations, at the same time as we fight for our immediate 
interests, we anarchists work to develop and generalise the anti-capitalist elements - 
expressed in claims and methods of struggle - that we oppressed put into practice in the 
heat of the class struggle. It means that far from imposing some specific goals and means 
of struggle "invented" in intellectual laboratories, we do no more than claim that which 
the exploited and oppressed are already beginning to develop in the "social laboratory" of 
the confrontation with capital and the state.

Departing from the moment in which class society exists this leads us to the need to think 
of a libertarian and socialist revolutionary project, it is necessary that we endow the 
anarchist political organisation with a clear programme of action that reflects our 
strategy of rupture, which results in our ideological principles, of our objectives and 
methods of political practice, and of a correct analysis of the steps in which the society 
of exploitation and classes can be put behind us.

For all that we have said, we believe that the anarchist political organisation must have 
- internally and as a mode of operation for all its militants - some certain principles of 
organisation to ensure that what was established in the programme of action is carried 
out. We refer to: strategic and ideological unity; tactical and programmatic unity; 
collective and disciplined action; federal and democratic organisational forms [7].

We talk about strategic and ideological unity, because we believe that the anarchist 
organisation "should not be a disjointed spontaneous union of diverse individuals that 
comprise and compose it, which are in agreement in vague and imprecise axes" [8], but its 
ideological principles, the fundamentals of its action and its strategy must be the result 
of a profound discussion, leaving aside the superficial agreements that seek to be a 
"synthesis" of irreconcilable positions.

Tactical and programmatic unity of the anarchists is based on the necessity of the 
programme to be an expression of the tasks to realise in a determined step (tasks that 
must respond to the needs of the popular masses), the need for tactical unity in order to 
trigger the entire organisation. [9] This unity of action will allow the anarchist 
militancy to act as one coordinated body, using the wealth that collective strength gives 
us, avoiding a wasting of capacity, both human and material.

This leads us to believe in the importance of collective action and discipline. By the 
notion of collective action we refer to the fact that, in the same way that the actions 
that the organisation undertakes are discussed and decided responsibly by its militants, 
the militant action of its members is the responsibility of the organisation and should be 
adjusted to what was agreed to collectively. When we refer to discipline, we say "certain 
discipline, not automatic, but voluntary and reflected and in perfect agreement with the 
freedom of individuals, is and always will be necessary each time that many individuals, 
freely united, undertake a job or a collective action, no matter what. In such a case, the 
discipline is nothing more than the voluntary agreement and reflected in all the 
individual efforts to a common end. " [10] We speak here of strict compliance with freely 
established agreements.

In order that agreements are freely reached, that they come from a thorough discussion and 
are reflective of the will of the entire organisation, democratic and federated 
organisational forms are necessary. At the same time as we discard sterile and diffuse 
assembly-ism as a way to act for anarchists, we discuss, decide and act from the practice 
of direct democracy and employ a federalist structure as a way to ensure a functioning 
that contemplates the different necessities of the anarchist political organisation, while 
an expression of a unique and collective revolutionary will.

Translation from Portuguese by Jonathan P. (Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front, South Africa)

NOTES:

[1] Journal of OSL Argentina (N. T.)
[2] “Organisation” in Malatesta. Revolutionary Thought and Action (Selection of Vernon 
Richards), Editorial Proyección, 1974 Buenos Aires).
[3] “Anarquismo y Organización”, paper presented by the Organización Socialista Libertaria 
in the Jornadas Libertarias Libweek 2001, held in Madrid on 30 March and 1 April.
[4] The political vs. the social, About the activities of anarchist organising in the 
class struggle, En la Calle 16, May 1999.
[5] See footnote 3.
[6] See footnote 2.
[7] “Anarquismo y Organización”, Organización Socialista Libertaria document, and 
Manifesto of Libertarian Communism by George Fontenis, Ediciones Hombre y Sociedad, Chile, 
1999.
[8] See footnote 7.
[9] See footnote 7.
[10] Bakunin. "Tactics and discipline of the revolutionary party", in La Libertad 
(Selection of Francois Muñoz), Editorial Proyección, 1975.
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://ainfos.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
Archive: http://ainfos.ca/en