Anarchism is a hot topic these days, especially in the context of the ongoing wave of protests following the murder of George Floyd. Trump tweets incessantly about ‘radical-left anarchists,’ and Biden rants about ‘arsonists and anarchists.’ To many people, anarchy is synonymous with chaos. But what does anarchism mean to anarchists, why is it relevant to activism in the Central Valley?
What is anarchism?
“Anarchy” means “lack of rule” in Greek. A practical (‘everyday’) definition of anarchism is “a political ideology based on principles of freedom, mutual aid, self-governance, and social justice.” Many anarchist theorists argue for hours on this definition, but it will work for our purposes. In short, anarchists are against all coercion.
Anarchism has a long history. Some historians characterize ancient societies (especially pre-colonial indigenous cultures) as ‘anarchist,’ because they were largely egalitarian and heavily valued community and mutual aid (i.e., helping each other, without a concept of payment.) Anarchism became a formal political ideology in the 1800s, introduced by writers like Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and Mikhail Bakunin. As an ideology it is diverse, and there exist feminist, ecological, indigenous, and black interpretations of anarchism.
Anarchist methods are varied. This principle is referred to as diversity of tactics. Some anarchists focus on providing mutual aid, like Food Not Bombs. Other anarchists focus on protest and resistance, sometimes forming black blocs, which are useful when confronting Nazi or racist groups. Yet more anarchists conduct sabotage to prevent corporations from conducting environmental destruction or polluting the ecosystem. Vegan anarchists are known to raid fur farms and animal testing facilities to free animals that would be otherwise tortured and killed. Anarchists fought fascists in Spain during WWII.
Some of these tactics are legal. Some of these tactics aren’t. Anarchists believe that State power is illegitimate. Anarchists are prison abolitionists. Anarchists never, ever, ever call the cops.
Anarchists believe in direct action. That means anarchists want direct social change and don’t advocate for social reform or incremental change. If racists come to a community, anarchists will push them out. If the homeless are hungry (and being harassed by local police,) anarchists will feed them (or house them.) If someone is abusing animals, anarchists will rescue them. If loggers want to destroy an old-growth forest, anarchists will stop the project in its track.
Anarchists are against hierarchy and leadership. Anarchists advocate for self-governance and make decisions collectively (when they’re needed.)
Anarchism in the Central Valley
What would applying anarchism to activism in the Central Valley look like?
- Affinity groups, not nonprofits
- Affinity groups are small, informal groups with a common goal in mind. You and your friends are an affinity group when you go to a protest together. Anarchist protest tactics are centered on affinity groups, which are autonomous.
- We don’t need groups or self-appointed leadership to act.
- Who’s your affinity group?
- Direct action, not voting
- Direct action is about bringing about social change right now. A lot of activism in the Central Valley is centered around ‘awareness’ and voting blue next voting cycle. This creates the illusion of social change but always defers actual social change to a later date, which sometimes never comes.
- We don’t need to ask people who don’t have our interests in mind to make a change for us. We can make the change ourselves.
- How can you enact change directly, by yourself or with friends?
- Diversity of tactics
- Organizers, especially in Fresno, have worked hard to ensure protestors have a ‘clean’ image and don’t break the law. Protestors have no power except their power to disrupt capitalism, which will always be illegal.
- The language of the ruling class is money and violence. They are concerned with money first and foremost and use violence to produce it.
- Speak to them in the only language they understand