On the internet I don't see too many Anarchists give arguments past "communism doesn't work because communists are doomed to repeat the same exploitative power structures of the capitalist state" and "we dont know what an anarchist society will look like we gotta wait til we get there!" Which like...is not convincing to me at all. I've engaged in what was supposed to be consensus based decision making systems and there were a ton of flaws, though that's purely anecdotal.
So, I'd really like to have some suggestions on what to read that you think might really challenge where I stand/take anarchism more seriously. It might take me 5 years to get to them bc executive dysfunction but I really want to see if my mind can be changed on if it would be a better system from the get go than communism.
I think it would be super interesting to hear from anyone who shifted into anarchism from Marxism on why it made more sense to you
Doesn't it seem reasonable that the idea of trying to create a classless society would be a task better suited for those who come after us? For example, the promise of socialism is that democracy is then increased to be available to the wider masses of people. Socialist societies have in the past, and even in the modern day, demonstrate that they're able to make huge leaps in social progress that enable more people than ever before be able to participate in the democratic processes of a society. I guess I'm not convinced that the idea that "Leninsts would not break down their own state" is something which is provable, and thus not a useful heuristic for making decisions. So what if "Leninists" aren't capable of the next step in the growth of humanity, it's been shown that they'll give up on their power much more peacefully than societies dominated by the bourgeois class ever will (even and especially communist officials who didn't benefit from the transition to liberal governance). If we're able to save the planetary ecosystem with cybernetic planning, end hunger, guarantee housing and work for those who're able and a good life for those who aren't as the "Leninists" demand; won't we have left our children with far more fertile soil for an anarchist society than if we simply struggle directly for a classeless society today?
IF we are able, than i'll be the first one to admit that. But if in the process we have to wiretap literally everyone and encourage snitching on our friends, i'll reserve the right to be sceptical about whether this is the goal or not.
Yeah but this hangup is also disconnected from the actual reality of living in socialist societies outside of their most turbulent times. The United States is already the most surveilled society and it doesn't effect most people; only political actors working against the status quo and those recruited by intelligence agencies to shoot up a mall. As well, friends snitching on friends, it's reminiscent of only a short era of Soviet history that's often highly exaggerated.
However I can't blame you for your hangups, except to say that after talking to comrades in multiple different existing socialist nations, I simply don't have them anymore. If you ever get the chance to talk to communists in real communist parties, I think your worries will fade away. They're largely like all the punks and progressives I know in my life if they were simply given the political education and support to make their society better. I can't guarantee this is true in all cases, clearly, but socialist governance is far more humane and elevates far better members of society than the bourgeois governance we're both used to. It really does set the stage for a better humanity.
I live in a former east bloc state (hungary) and the only communist party we have left is explicitly against LGBTQ people and immigration. In the meantime unions are in shambles because all union activity was heavily vetted by the police so workers now don't even care to try (of course 30 years of neoliberal pacification also contributed but there was basically zero resistance even in the 90's because they were all gutted. So i am a bit sceptic about it, but again, i am happy to be proven wrong, i would be a supporter if such a humane system would rise and i watch with great admiration the latin american projects (and also defend for example Cuba against radlib losers who think it's the most authoritarian state ever).
One thought morsel to your original question though: If we got closer to all those things through ways of anarchistic organizing, wouldn't that be better too even if it ultimately fails to achieve all the goals?
Hm, yeah, I can definitely see your perspective. I've only interacted with members of, for example, Cuba and China's communist parties; so that paints the picture for me in my mind of what a communist party looks like.
I think to answer your question though, I guess I focus on two things;
A) A clear path of continuation, explicitly bound institutions which allow the next generation to pick up the mantle of running whatever revolution, and this requires institutions in my experience
B) An ability to survive through crisis, for example, if an anarchist project were able to bring huge progress in a short period of time, what use would it be if that project was then crushed by better organized and better funded imperialists or capitalists within a matter of years if not months?
I guess for me, I see that positive change only happens over long periods of time. The projects and solutions we have to environmental decay, economic democracy, etc all require these two things which socialist projects (not all, unfortunately, but enough to learn from) have shown an ability to do. If we don't engage with what's worked historically and build and improve that, we might as well be theorizing about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.