Anarchists and Direct Action
[With the approval of the rest of the group at Wednesday's meeting, I hope to give this as a talk at our What is Anarchism? event]
It goes almost without saying that anarchists don't think any real change can come from above. We don't believe in parliament, in the current incarnation of representative democracy, or in the benevolence of supposedly learned political leaders, however “socialist” they may or may not be. Voting in the right party will never achieve a full and free society, and never result in one of anarchists' primary economic aims: full worker control of the means of production. If we're going to de-Marx-ify that, what it means is simply that you should reap the rewards from the work that you do.
However, there have been instances when political rights and the provision of services, such as free healthcare and free schooling, have been enshrined in law. It is anarchists' assertion that these rights were won by the struggle of workers themselves, forcing the hand of government. A phrase heard a lot in the context of workers' struggle is that of direct action. By that, we mean action not sanctioned by government or law, but that is designed as a means for the powerless to assert some control over the powerful. Strikes, boycotts, and occupations are all examples of direct action. It is usually organised by the workers themselves, and it functions by highlighting the massive contribution workers make towards the economy and the welfare of the parasitic capitalists who live almost entirely from the labour of others.
Socialist labour parties have long made use of direct action by workers as a way to achieve their aims of attaining power in parliament. The British Labour Party is funded in a large part by trade unions. In fact, without the struggle of workers, the socialist parties would find themselves utterly powerless. As anarchists, we simply assert that workers' control of production and state control of production are not the same, as we can see so nakedly in supposedly socialist and communist countries such as China and North Korea, where a political ruling class hold sway over hideously oppressed workers.
Direct action is important not just because of its final aims, however. Any action, no matter how small and seemingly trivial the demands, serves to demonstrate the power that the seemingly powerless have if they act as a collective force. Even the smallest action can achieve real improvements in the here and now, granting a living wage, paid holiday, or better working conditions. It is important not simply because it achieves real material goals, but because it serves as a learning experience for all involved. From each strike, occupation, or boycott, we learn techniques of organising that benefit later action, as well as being practice for when control is fully achieved. We build networks and make friends, and above all, it is fun! Taking back our lives from those who steal probably the most important human asset: our time and labour.
As students, direct action fits into our struggles as much as it does for our friends in the workplace. Many of us are involved in UK Uncut action, haranguing and disrupting business for the owners of shops that make money from us until they pay their taxes to the government, providing more money for our social wage (that is, the services such as the NHS and education) and therefore less excuses for the government when they choose to cut back.
You may have heard of the occupation of George Square Lecture Theatre recently. That was in protest against ridiculous and exorbitant fees put in place by the University management, and while achieving the scrapping of the fees themselves is not necessarily realistic, our action annoys the management, shows how active students are in defence of our education, and strengthens us by building our bonds of friendship in the struggle. Occupations also serve as a demonstration of the taking back of space. Private ownership of physical space is something many of us take huge issue with, and protesting that by occupying it is another demonstration of our aims and beliefs.
Although we differ in political viewpoint from our friends in the other shades of the left, we happily work with them in our struggles here. Our aims in this are the same as many of theirs: we want to improve the conditions of students, workers and people in general and in the here and now, and to spread confidence and organising ability among these groups. We can have fascinating and illuminating discussions on those long occupation nights, also helping us to grow and think, but right now, and right here, through direct action, we can unite and fight for what we are owed.
One can think of anarchism in some ways as a “tension towards quality”. As long as there is power, there is resistance, and anarchists will always be there resisting power held over one set of people by another. We maintain tension with the ruling class, pulling the balance towards the powerless, aiming for them to control their lives, workplaces and education institutions.
Why ask the government to oblige us, when in many ways control is within our reach? Direct action is one way of reaching out and taking back nothing more than our own lives and liberties. The government, whatever its shade of red, blue or blue-and-yellow, is not a benevolent parent. They always tend towards the interests of the powerful. Here, that is a wealthy minority, the owning class. We must force the government's hand if they are to do the bidding of the people, and direct action, in its many forms, is one way of doing so.
It goes almost without saying that anarchists don't think any real change can come from above. We don't believe in parliament, in the current incarnation of representative democracy, or in the benevolence of supposedly learned political leaders, however “socialist” they may or may not be. Voting in the right party will never achieve a full and free society, and never result in one of anarchists' primary economic aims: full worker control of the means of production. If we're going to de-Marx-ify that, what it means is simply that you should reap the rewards from the work that you do.
However, there have been instances when political rights and the provision of services, such as free healthcare and free schooling, have been enshrined in law. It is anarchists' assertion that these rights were won by the struggle of workers themselves, forcing the hand of government. A phrase heard a lot in the context of workers' struggle is that of direct action. By that, we mean action not sanctioned by government or law, but that is designed as a means for the powerless to assert some control over the powerful. Strikes, boycotts, and occupations are all examples of direct action. It is usually organised by the workers themselves, and it functions by highlighting the massive contribution workers make towards the economy and the welfare of the parasitic capitalists who live almost entirely from the labour of others.
Socialist labour parties have long made use of direct action by workers as a way to achieve their aims of attaining power in parliament. The British Labour Party is funded in a large part by trade unions. In fact, without the struggle of workers, the socialist parties would find themselves utterly powerless. As anarchists, we simply assert that workers' control of production and state control of production are not the same, as we can see so nakedly in supposedly socialist and communist countries such as China and North Korea, where a political ruling class hold sway over hideously oppressed workers.
Direct action is important not just because of its final aims, however. Any action, no matter how small and seemingly trivial the demands, serves to demonstrate the power that the seemingly powerless have if they act as a collective force. Even the smallest action can achieve real improvements in the here and now, granting a living wage, paid holiday, or better working conditions. It is important not simply because it achieves real material goals, but because it serves as a learning experience for all involved. From each strike, occupation, or boycott, we learn techniques of organising that benefit later action, as well as being practice for when control is fully achieved. We build networks and make friends, and above all, it is fun! Taking back our lives from those who steal probably the most important human asset: our time and labour.
As students, direct action fits into our struggles as much as it does for our friends in the workplace. Many of us are involved in UK Uncut action, haranguing and disrupting business for the owners of shops that make money from us until they pay their taxes to the government, providing more money for our social wage (that is, the services such as the NHS and education) and therefore less excuses for the government when they choose to cut back.
You may have heard of the occupation of George Square Lecture Theatre recently. That was in protest against ridiculous and exorbitant fees put in place by the University management, and while achieving the scrapping of the fees themselves is not necessarily realistic, our action annoys the management, shows how active students are in defence of our education, and strengthens us by building our bonds of friendship in the struggle. Occupations also serve as a demonstration of the taking back of space. Private ownership of physical space is something many of us take huge issue with, and protesting that by occupying it is another demonstration of our aims and beliefs.
Although we differ in political viewpoint from our friends in the other shades of the left, we happily work with them in our struggles here. Our aims in this are the same as many of theirs: we want to improve the conditions of students, workers and people in general and in the here and now, and to spread confidence and organising ability among these groups. We can have fascinating and illuminating discussions on those long occupation nights, also helping us to grow and think, but right now, and right here, through direct action, we can unite and fight for what we are owed.
One can think of anarchism in some ways as a “tension towards quality”. As long as there is power, there is resistance, and anarchists will always be there resisting power held over one set of people by another. We maintain tension with the ruling class, pulling the balance towards the powerless, aiming for them to control their lives, workplaces and education institutions.
Why ask the government to oblige us, when in many ways control is within our reach? Direct action is one way of reaching out and taking back nothing more than our own lives and liberties. The government, whatever its shade of red, blue or blue-and-yellow, is not a benevolent parent. They always tend towards the interests of the powerful. Here, that is a wealthy minority, the owning class. We must force the government's hand if they are to do the bidding of the people, and direct action, in its many forms, is one way of doing so.