An Anarchist FAQ
theanarchistlibrary.org
The Anarchist FAQ Editorial Collective An Anarchist FAQ Version 15.4 (17-Mar-2020) 17-Mar-2020

Turns out the anarchists have a piece of theory larger than Capital. I haven't seen any of my comrades talk about this in any community. The writer has read Marx, Engels, and Lenin.

Wasn't sure whether to post it in Shit Ultras Say or Leftist Infighting but I'll post it here first. Section H is where it attempts to criticize us.

  • bunbun@lemmygrad.ml
    ·
    5 months ago

    Some Marxists will dismiss our arguments, and anarchism, out of hand. This is because anarchism has not lead a “successful” revolution while Marxism has.

    For some Marxists, practice determines validity.

    Equally, the role of Marxism in the labour movement has also been less than successful.

    The harsh fact that the Russian, Chinese, and Cuban ‘revolutions’ were massive counterrevolutions that blight our entire century.

    Clearly, a key myth of Marxism is the idea that it has been a successful movement. In reality, its failures have been consistent and devastating so suggesting it is time to re-evaluate the whole ideology and embrace a revolutionary theory like anarchism.

    I don't even know what to say. I just hope that nobody has ever printed this, trees deserve better.

    • Muad'Dibber@lemmygrad.ml
      ·
      5 months ago

      Every revolutionary gain, from increased life expectancy, to communal childcare and healthcare, elimination of poverty, defeat of nazi germany / the KMT / japanese fascism, counts for nothing to anarchists. How many batallions did the anarchists field against those powers? How many millions of people did they feed?

      We've had > 200 years to test which theory gives the best results, and guess what, anarchism proved to be worthless. It should be studied only as a historical curiosity, like Blanquism or Owenism.

      • Sodium_nitride@lemmygrad.ml
        ·
        5 months ago

        Every revolutionary gain, from increased life expectancy, to communal childcare and healthcare, elimination of poverty, defeat of nazi germany / the KMT / japanese fascism, counts for nothing to anarchists.

        99% of online anarchism is from the west, where the anarchists don't know or don't care about these gains. The 3rd world "anarchists" (oftentimes the label is applied by outsiders seeking to make anarchism look more widespread than it actually is) almost never repudiate the Russian or Chinese or Cuban revolutions.

        • Muad'Dibber@lemmygrad.ml
          ·
          5 months ago

          No probs! Either one works. The Shit X Say communities are more for cringe content, so people can block them, while this one is about getting opinions and such.