Audible Anarchism

Fighting For Ourselves - Chapter Three - Anarcho-syndicalism in the 20th Century

Can be read at https://libcom.org/library/fighting-o...

In this chapter we will introduce anarcho-syndicalism as a synthesis of the anarchist politics and syndicalist methods we encountered in the previous chapter. This will be explored through the theory of Émile Pouget, the Argentine FORA (Argentine Regional  Workers’ Federation), the German FAUD (Free Workers’ Union of Germany) and the Spanish CNT (National Confederation of Labour). While the mainstream workers’ movement is separated into political (party) and economic (trade union) wings, anarcho-syndicalism's revolutionary unions are at the same time political and economic organisations. In countries where reformist trade unionism was not well established (such as Spain) this revolutionary current sometimes became the mainstream. Where trade unions were stronger (such as Germany), anarcho-syndicalism constituted a revolutionary alternative to the mainstream workers’ movement. This chapter will also show how this synthesis of anarchism and syndicalism has taken different forms in response to different conditions, but always rejected the division of the workers’ movement into economic and political wings, and rejected representation in favour of associations for direct action.

Fighting For Ourselves - Chapter Two Revolutionary - Currents Within the Workers Movement

Can be read at https://libcom.org/library/fighting-ourselves-anarcho-syndicalism-class-struggle-solidarity-federation

This excellent book by Solfed aims to recover some of the lost history of the workers' movement, in order to set out a revolutionary strategy for the present conditions. In clear and accessible prose, the book sets out the anarcho-syndicalist criticisms of political parties and trade unions, engages with other radical traditions such as anarchism, syndicalism and dissident Marxisms, explains what anarcho-syndicalism was in the twentieth century, and how it's relevant - indeed, vital - for workers today. 

This chapter will introduce three radical currents from the historical workers’ movement. First we will look at anarchism, the name given to the anti-state socialists in the European workers’ movement of the 19th and 20th centuries. Anarchism, as a political doctrine, opposed itself to all statist politics, whether parliamentary or ‘revolutionary’, instead placing its emphasis on human capacities for voluntary co-operation, mutual aid and working class direct action. Second, we will encounter syndicalism. Emerging in France, the syndicalist movement of rank and file controlled, radical unions spread to many countries taking new forms in different conditions. We will focus on the French CGT, the North American IWW and the syndicalist currents in the workers’ movement in Britain. In all cases, working class direct action was the watchword of the syndicalists who, often under anarchist influence, formed unions based on the shared economic interests of workers. Finally, we will look at council communism, a radical Marxist current which broke with orthodoxies such as the necessity of the Party and the capture of state power. The council communists drew some very similar conclusions to many anarchists and anarcho-syndicalists, but we will also explore some important differences

Fighting for Ourselves - Chapter One - The mainstream workers' movement

Can be read at https://libcom.org/library/fighting-o...​ This excellent book by Solfed aims to recover some of the lost history of the workers' movement, in order to set out a revolutionary strategy for the present conditions. In clear and accessible prose, the book sets out the anarcho-syndicalist criticisms of political parties and trade unions, engages with other radical traditions such as anarchism, syndicalism and dissident Marxisms, explains what anarcho-syndicalism was in the twentieth century, and how it's relevant - indeed, vital - for workers today. This chapter will introduce the mainstream currents in the workers’ movement, from their origins until today. This is done in three parts. First, we look at how trade unions began as a response by workers to the conditions of early capitalism. By forming associations, workers could get the strength in numbers to change the balance of power versus employers. But we will see how, alongside this, a representative function arose, where unions developed a life independent of their membership and began to operate over their heads, mediating and ultimately diminishing their power within the limits set down by capital and the state. We will also see how this led trade unions to see themselves as purely economic organisations, leaving ‘politics’ to separate party organisations. We will then look at the notionally ‘revolutionary workers’ parties’ originating in Marxism and Leninism, and set out a critique of their inherent statism. Finally, we will retrace the history of the British Labour Party, dispelling some of the rose tinted nostalgia for this ‘workers’ party’, which was always a party of the trade union bureaucrats and never of the workers themselves.

Fighting for Ourselves - Introduction

Full text http://libcom.org/library/fighting-ou...

 

This excellent book by Solfed aims to recover some of the lost history of the workers' movement, in order to set out a revolutionary strategy for the present conditions. In clear and accessible prose, the book sets out the anarcho-syndicalist criticisms of political parties and trade unions, engages with other radical traditions such as anarchism, syndicalism and dissident Marxisms, explains what anarcho-syndicalism was in the twentieth century, and how it's relevant - indeed, vital - for workers today.

You can buy hard copies of Fighting for ourselves for £6 (including p&p) from Freedom Press (UK - £5 in the shop), and for $10+p&p from Thoughtcrime Ink Books (North America). For other countries please contact Solidarity Federation.

Book information
Publisher: Solidarity Federation and Freedom Press (London, UK)
Publication date: Oct 27, 2012
ISBN: 978-1904491200
Paperback: 124 pages.
Dimensions: 210 x 148 x 8mm

Taken from http://www.selfed.org.uk/read/ffo

This text in: Español

Prisons: Universities of Crime by Peter Kropotkin

Can be read at https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/petr-kropotkin-prisons-universities-of-crime

 

Short piece by Kropotkin on the effects of the prison system. "Prisons are universities of crime, maintained by the state".

Towards A Less Fucked Up World

Zine can be read at https://archive.org/details/TowardsAL...​

 

Towards A Less Fucked Up World: Sobriety and Anarchist Struggle is a zine published in the early 2000s by Nick Riotfag that explores the role intoxication culture plays in anarchist communities. The zine provides a thorough exploration of the issues around intoxication and anarchism. Topics covered include "Masculinity, Rape, and Intoxication," "Youth Liberation and Sobriety," "Intoxication and Corporate Culture," "Intoxication and Social Life," "Intoxication in Oppressed Communities," and many more. There are also two stories detailing how intoxication often plays out in anarchist communities and reflections on how to develop an anarchist sobriety. Weâve been tabling with this zine for years and it always inspires good conversations! This edition includes a revised text that differs from what was in the first edition of the zine as well as an afterward that includes reflections on the zine and the conversations it spurred. The "Afterward" originally appeared in the book Sober Living for the Revolution: Hardcore Punk, Straight Edge, and Radical Politics.

Reformism by Ericco Malatesta

Text can be read here https://theanarchistlibrary.org/libra...

Ericco Malatesta's comments and criticisms of political participation by the revolutionary movement.

The Conquest of Bread by Peter Kropotkin, Chapter 17 - Agriculture

The final chapter of "The Conquest of Bread" by Peter Kropotkin.

 

You can find the full text here: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/libra...

The Conquest of Bread by Peter Kropotkin, Chapter 16 - The Decentralization of Industry

Chapter 16 of "The Conquest of Bread" by Peter Kropotkin.

 

You can find the full text here: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/libra...

The Conquest of Bread by Peter Kropotkin, Chapter 15 - The Division of Labour

Chapter 15 of "The Conquest of Bread" by Peter Kropotkin.

You can find the full text here: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/libra...