2. CLASS STRUGGLE, CAPITALISM AND THE STATE
Have you realised that there is, between the proletariat and
the bourgeoisie, an irreconcilable antagonism which results
inevitably from their respective stations in life? ... That as a
result, war between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie is
unavoidable, and that the only outcome can be the destruction of the
latter?
Mikhail Bakunin, 1869, "The Policy of the
International", in R. M. Cutler, 1985, Mikhail Bakunin: From Out of
the Dustbin- Bakunin's Basic Writings, 1869-71. Ardis. Ann Arbor.
p97.
In the social domain all human history represents an
uninterrupted chain of struggles waged by the working masses for
their rights, liberty, and a better life ...
The class struggle created by the enslavement of the workers
and their aspirations to liberty gave birth, in the oppression, to
the idea of anarchism....
Nestor Makhno, Peter Archinov, Ida Mett et al, The
Organisational Platform of the Anarchist Communists, 1926 (published
by the WSF (SA)).
INTRODUCTION
1. The Workers Solidarity Federation is an Anarchist/Syndicalist
organisation. We believe in a revolution by the workers and the poor
to establish Stateless Socialism.
2. We believe that the working masses- the working class and
working peasants- produce all social wealth. Intellectual and manual
labour forms the basis of all societies<1>.
2.1. However, the products of this work are controlled and owned
by a small and non- working minority: capitalists, politicians, top
military and State officials, and other supervisory strata. These
parasitic classes are buttressed in their privileged position by the
structures of authority and oppression: the State, the wage system,
racism, imperialism, sexism, etc.
2.2. The opposite side of this exploitative and domineering rule
of the bosses is the impoverishment and subjugation of the labourers.
The majority of people suffer various degrees of deprivation while
the small minority enjoy all the good things of this world, and more.
2.3. South Africa is characterised by extremely high levels of
inequality, following both race and class lines.
2.3.1. A recent survey found that in 1991, Africans earned only
28% of total income even though they constituted 75% of the
population; whilst Whites, only 13% of the population, earned 61% of
total income.
2.3.2. At the same time it found that "[a]lmost three quarters of
total inequality can be ascribed to inequality awithin population
groups". For example, the richest 20% of African households (many of
whom are entrepreneurs, managers etc.) increased their real incomes
by almost 40% over the period 1975- 1991, while the poorest 40% of
African households' incomes decreased by nearly 40% over the same
period. A similar decline in real income was reported for the poorest
40% of Whites<2>.
1. DIFFERENT FORMS OF CLASS SOCIETY
3. Historically class exploitation has been organised in a number
of different ways. 3.1. Prior to capitalism's emergence these
included the feudal mode of production as existed in parts of Europe,
Africa and Asia (based on the exploitation of unfree farmers by a
class of warrior- landlords/ knights) and the tributary mode of
production, in Africa and elsewhere (based on the conquest and
exploitation of farming communities by a ruling class controlling
access to land, cattle, trade, and military force) <3>.
3.2 In every class society there has been an oppressed class whose
labour has created the wealth of that society and ruling class who
has controlled that wealth. At every stage the oppressed have fought
back (e.g.). slave revolts in Rome and Greece, peasant risings in
Europe and Asia, and working class struggle today.
3.3. All class systems are supported by the State, which can be
understood as a hierarchically structured coercive authority
governing a particular territory. The main organs of the State are
the police, army, judiciary and the civil service. The functions of
the State are to defend and legitimise the unjust class
system<4>.
2. CAPITALISM AND CLASSES UNDER CAPITALISM
4. The modern class system is capitalism, which emerged in Europe
from the 1500s. This is based on the pursuit of profit, and on
competition between firms to sell their commodities on the market
<5>.
5. Capitalism exists at two levels. Firstly, capitalism exists as
a mode of production made up of a combination of historically
specific forces and relations of production.
5.1. The forces of production ((i.e.). productive technologies)
associated with capitalism refer mainly to industrial machinery.
5.2. The relations of production ((i.e.). class system) associated
with the capitalist mode are as follows <6>.
(i) Firstly, there is a ruling class that owns and controls the
predominant part of the means of production, as well as controls the
labour power of others. It also exercises control over the State
apparatus. This class is also called the capitalist class, the
bourgeoisie, or, the "bosses and rulers." Examples: big business,
corporate executives, top politicians of all parties, civil servants,
generals and majors. Role in society: maintaining and extending their
domination and exploitation of society Size of South African ruling
class (as calculated from the census): 2,5% of population
(ii) Secondly, there is the working class. The working class
neither owns nor controls the means of production. As a result it is
forced to work for the ruling class for wages, and without real
control over the work process (or society). We also include in the
working class the poor who are marginalised by the capitalist system,
such as the unemployed, the alienated youth, and many of the self-
employed (these groups are sometimes called the "lumpen-
proletariat"). Other terms for the working class: the proletariat or
the "workers and the poor".Examples: blue collar workers like
builders, white collar workers like clerks, service workers like
waitresses, farmworkers, the unemployed, the poor and destitute,
soldiers up to NCO (non commissioned officer) level.Role in society:
to be exploited by the bosses and rulers through the wage system and
through taxes; to be ordered around by the state, the bosses and the
police; to provide the recruits for the army and the police.Size of
South African working class (as calculated from the census): about
81% of the population (this includes the majority of Africans and
other Black people, as well as two thirds of Whites)
(iii) Thirdly, there is a middle class. The middle class is made
up of three elements: small employers; middle- level managers and
foremen; and professionals. Small employers have control and
ownership of the means of production, but they only have a limited
control over the labour power of others because they employ few
people. The middle- level managers exercise a limited level of
control over investment and similar decisions, over the means of
production, and over the labour of others but they do not own the
means of production. The professionals work for a wage, but unlike
the workers they have a significant degree of control over how they
do their work. Other terms: "petty bourgeoisie".Examples: small
employers, supervisors, foremen, lawyers, journalists, doctors,
academics.Role in society: to provide the middle management of
capitalism and the State; to provide technical skills and "expertise"
to the bosses and rulers; to manufacture "culture" like music, TV,
fashion etc.Size of South African middle class (as calculated from
the census): 12,5% of population
6. Secondly, capitalism also exists as an economic system or
social formation. This refers to a set of articulated (linked) modes
of production, in which the capitalist mode of production dominates
non- capitalist modes of production, and extracts value from them
through trade and labour supply <7>.
6.1. Capitalism is an inherently expansive system that has spread
right across the planet in its search for new markets and cheap
labour and raw materials. This expansion has been aided by the State
in the form of Imperialism (SEE POSITION PAPER ON FIGHTING
IMPERIALISM).
6.2. However, as capitalism expanded outwards it did not always
simply dissolve pre- existing modes of production in favour of the
wages system. Instead it often preserved, restructured and/ or
created new modes of production in these areas. These modes of
production had non- capitalist relations of production but they were
still dominated by the capitalist mode which extracted value from
them through trade and labour extraction.Examples: slavery in the
American South for the purpose of producing cotton for the British
textile industry; the migrant labour system in which the worker
leaves her or his rural home for a limited period in which wages are
earned to pay taxes etc.; the restructuring of agricultural
communities in Africa to produce cash crops.
6.3. The modern peasantry is a product of the restructuring of
pre- capitalist farming communities to provide cash crops. A working
definition for a peasant is "a rural cultivator enjoying access to a
specific portion of land, the fruits of which he can dispose of as if
he owned the land; and who, by the use of family labour, seeks to
satisfy the consumption needs of his family and to meet the demands
arising from his involvement in a wider economic system" <8>.
6.4. There are a number of problems with this definition. One is
that it hides stratification among the peasantry. We should therefore
further subdivide the peasantry into(i)upper peasants(who have
managed to accumulate wealth and who employ the labour of others)(ii)
middle peasants (who get by on their family labour alone); and(iii)
poor peasants (who work their own land but cannot make ends meet
without engaging in wage labour)
6.5. The Workers Solidarity Federation considers the rich peasants
to be exploiters and therefore directs its attention to the middle
and poor peasants, who can be lumped together as the working
peasantry.
3. WHY DO WE OPPOSE CAPITALISM?
7. We oppose capitalism because
7.1. Capitalism is an inherently exploitative system. The bosses
own the factories, banks, mines, shops, etc. Workers don't. Workers
are compelled to sell their labour to the boss for a wage. Peasants
are forced to grow cash crops to make ends meet. The boss is
interested in squeezing as much work out of the worker for as little
wages as possible so that he/she can maintain high profits. Thus the
more wages workers get the less profits the bosses make. The lower
prices the bosses and state marketing boards can pay the peasant for
the crops, the more profits they make. Capitalism is based on paying
workers and peasants less than the full value of their labour
("exploitation" in the technical sense of the word) and using the
surplus for the purpose of enriching the bosses and making more
profits. Overall, we would argue that the workers and working
peasants produce all wealth. The only exception to this general rule
are some sections of the middle class who do useful productive work
(e.g. doctors, teachers). All other classes are parasitic and depend
for their existence on exploitation. Clearly, the interests of the
ruling class, on the one hand, and the working class and working
peasantry, on the other, are in total opposition to each other:
capitalism systematically produces, and is based on, inequalities in
wealth, power and opportunity. It is almost impossible for an
ordinary person to make enough money to set up in business.
7.2. Capitalism is authoritarian. At both the level of the
workplace and at the level of society as a whole capitalism is an
authoritarian system. At the workplace level, capitalist enterprises
are run by mangers and owners who make all key decisions. The vast
majority of people in a workplace -the workers- have no real say at
all. Decision-making revolve around the maximisation of profits; any
company which worries about human costs unrepresented in costs and
revenues will not be able to compete effectively in the capitalist
system. Similarly, concern about long-term issues like the
environmental crisis is undermined by competition in capitalism,
which makes it irrational to do anything other than devote oneself to
short-term goals. At the societal level, the inequalities associated
with class systematically exclude most people from active and equal
involvement in political activity e.g. lack time, education. In
addition, the very existence of these inequalities gives rise to the
State which perpetuates the system where the few rule over the many.
This is reinforced by the tendency of capitalism to move to a
monopoly situation where a few giant companies dominate the entire
economy. In other words, capitalism embodies unfair power relations.
7.3. Capitalism prioritises profit-making over human needs.
Production under capitalism is not based on the needs of ordinary
people. Production is for profit. Therefore although there is enough
food in the world to feed everyone, people starve because profits
come first. Food is not govern out on the basis of hunger, but on the
basis of ready cash. Useless goods are promoted because they are
profitable, not because they are needed. Poverty, bad working
conditions etc. all take a back seat to the goal of making money.
7.4. Capitalism is inefficient. Market systems are inherently
wasteful , because supply is only matched to demand after the fact of
production. There may be more goods produced than people can buy; in
this case goods go to waste (they are not used at all as this is
better from the point of view of the capitalists than giving them to
those who need them). There is no correlation between what is
produced and what is actually needed inside society. Instead,
different companies produce a number of almost identical products
resulting in unnecessary waste. The profit motive means that markets
systematically fail to meet basic needs in favour of the needs of
those with the money i.e. the ruling and middle classes. Contrary to
the ideology that capitalism is to the benefit of all, there is a
constant contradiction between the private interests of capitalists
and the general needs of the majority of people.
7.5. Capitalism undermines social solidarity. The market forces
people top compete for jobs, wages etc. It also promotes greed and
similar negative social values. In this way markets undermine
positive values like solidarity etc.
7.6. As we discuss elsewhere in these papers, the capitalist
system along with the State is also a primary cause of oppressions
like racism, sexism, imperialism etc. SEE POSITION PAPERS ON
FIGHTING RACISM,
ANTI-IMPERIALISM,
WOMEN'S FREEDOM,
GAY RIGHTS etc.
4. WHY DO WE OPPOSE THE STATE?
8. The term State refers to a set of administrative, hierarchical,
bureaucratic, coercive and legal structures-the legislature
(Parliament), the civil service, the judiciary, the army and police-
co-ordinated by an executive (e.g.). the cabinet. These mechanisms of
domination and control have an exclusive legal monopoly on the use of
force and a territorial basis <9>.
8.1. The State emerges with the division of society into classes
and is designed to protect the ruling and exploiting minority ruling
class from the oppressed classes <10>. Economic exploitation,
and the coercive institutions of political power have always gone
hand in hand.
8.2. When we say that the State upholds the ruling class we mean
the whole ruling class- and not just the capitalists or bosses in the
economy, but also the generals, the politicians and the top civil
servants. The State is not simply the tool of economic interests, but
a structure of domination in its own right and with its own dynamics.
History provides many examples of the way in which the State's drive
to power has gone against the optimal development of the capitalist
economy <11>. Overall, the State and capitalism are like two
inseparable Siamese twins- each requires the other.
8.3. The State will always defend the ruling class. This is
because the State is funded by taxes and loans generated in the
process of exploitation, because the top personnel of the State are
mainly drawn (like the bosses of the companies) from the few who own
all the wealth (thus sharing common values and interests), and
because the State was created specifically in order to defend the
ruling class. In addition, those controlling the State develop a
vested interest in the power and wealth that they derive from their
position, thus turning them into zealous defenders of the class
system.
8.4. The State cannot be used to secure the liberation of the
working class (and working peasantry) <12>.
8.4.1. through parliament: real power does not lie in parliament,
it lies in the military, in the upper levels of the State
bureaucracy, and in the company boardrooms. The State is a huge
machine containing many powerful non- elected officials. All elected
parties are thus, no matter their intentions, fundamentally
constrained in their ability to change society by the nature of the
State. If the ruling class was genuinely threatened by an elected
government, it would remove it by an authoritarian solution such as a
military coup, or by intrigues. In this way, all elected parties are
forced to confine themselves to reforms that do not challenge the
fundamental fact of class rule.
8.4.2. through the so- called workers State: the State is an
hierarchical structure that is built to allow a minority to rule over
the rest of society. Any attempt to use a State structure, "red" or
otherwise, as a means to liberate the masses can only result in the
rule of yet another small minority, which will rapidly assume all the
features of a ruling class. In this way, the hoped for revolution is
strangled by a new group of exploiters.
8.4.3. The working class can only secure its freedom by mass
struggle against the State and capitalism, and only take power
through its own democratic mass organisations such as the unions.
8.5. The State is driven by two main imperatives <13>.
8.5.1. Firstly, the State wants to ensure that the processes of
accumulation in the capitalist economy continue to occur, because it
derives its revenue from taxation and from finance from capital
markets. The State does this by trying to keep society "stable", by
enforcing the laws of private property and contract, by providing
infrastructure, such as roads, teaching people the to have a pro-
capitalist outlook, and, in some cases, social services to alleviate
the worst excesses of the capitalist system <14>.
8.5.2. Secondly, the State wishes to preserve its domination over
society. The State generally thus tries to legitimise its rule
amongst (at least some of) its subjects (hence the claims of the
State that it "represents the people", maintains "law and order"
etc.). This is of course backed up by the State's military power.
8.5.3. The way in which the State acts in a given situation will
generally be in line with these imperatives. However, this does not
mean that the State has everything its own way. Popular unrest and
resistance can force the State to concede basic civil and social
rights and to drop or modify unpopular policies.
5. WHY DO WE STAND FOR CLASS STRUGGLE AND CLASS
REVOLUTION?
* Why does the class struggle arise and what does it imply?
9. As stated above, capitalism and the State are based on the
exploitation of the majority of humanity. This class exploitation
generates a class struggle between the exploiters and the exploited.
This takes place both at work and in the community, and may be under
the banner of a wide variety of ideologies: nationalist, feminist,
religious etc. Most of these differ from Anarchism substantially.
10. In order to end this class system, Anarchist/Syndicalists
believe thatrevolution by the working class (and / or working
peasantry) is necessary. Only in this way can the masses take control
of their lives and enjoy the fruits of their labour.
10.1. Only a productive class can build a free society, because
only a productive class does not need to exploit <15>. This
means the workers and working peasants (and maybe some sections of
the middle class like doctors, teachers). Any revolution made by a
ruling class, be it progressive or reactionary, White or Black, will
only perpetuate the class system under a new guise.
10.2. We do not support the idea that society should be changed
from above. It can be, but it won't be much better for the masses.
10.3. The revolution will destroy capitalism, the State and all
forms of oppression, and build a new self- managed society based on
worker councils (which will develop from the trade unions) and
community councils (which will develop from the civic associations)
and distribution according to need. All forms of coercive authority,
oppression and exploitation will be abolished.
* A Note on the Middle Class
10.4. The middle class is stuck in the middle of the working
class/ ruling class struggle. As such, it will probably split before
and during the revolution between those supporting the bosses and
those supporting the working class (just like some working class
people will probably join the bosses against the revolution).
Nonetheless, it is important to stress that those middle class people
who join the workers movement should come as comrades putting their
abilities at the service of the masses, rather than as experts and
leaders who give the orders <16>.
* The Class Struggle And Its Relationship To Other Forms Of
Oppression
SEE SECTIONS ON FIGHTING RACISM
AND WOMEN'S LIBERATION FOR MORE ON
THE FOLLOWING POINTS.
11. In addition to class exploitation, capitalism and the modern
State generate a number of other oppressive relationships. These
include racism, imperialism, sexism, homophobia and environmental
degradation.
11.1. Generally speaking these oppressions allow capitalism to
super-exploit socially weaker sections of the working class (like
Blacks and women) and to divide the working masses through
ideological manipulation and the provision of unequal rights.
11.2. As Anarchists we give our full support to struggles against
these forms of oppression, seeing this as a central part of the class
struggle. Class struggle does not ignore sexism, racism etc.: insofar
as the majority of people who are affected by these oppressions (and
who are also affected the worst by these oppressions) are working
class, insofar as these oppressions are rooted in the capitalist
system, and insofar as the working class can only be united and
mobilised on the basis of opposing all oppression, these issues are
all class issues. It is impossible to mobilise the working class
without dealing with all the issues that affect the working class.
That is to say, the class struggle can only succeed if it is
anti-racist, anti-sexist etc. We stand for the destruction of all
special oppressions that divide the working class.. SEE POSITION
PAPERS ON FIGHTING RACISM,
ANTI-IMPERIALISM AND
WOMEN'S FREEDOM ETC.
11.3. We also stand for united, integrated, internationalist class
struggle politics. No one section of the working class can win
freedom on its own, the struggle must be united (this is where a
strength lies, and because we have common interests) and
internationalist (because no revolution can succeed in one country
alone). ON INTERNATIONALISM, SEE ALSO POSITION PAPER ON
ANTI-IMPERIALISM. On the issue
of whether specially oppressed sections of the working class should
organise separately, SEE POSITION PAPERS ON
SEPARATE ORGANISATIONS FOR MORE
DISCUSSION ON THIS POINT
11.4. The fight against racism etc. must be at the same time a
class struggle.
11.5. Capitalism and the State are the primary cause of all
special oppressions. It follows that the fight against racism etc.
must be a fight against capitalism and the State. Since these
structures can only be beaten through class struggle, it follows that
only a united working class can defeat racism etc. <17>.
Capitalism and the state are
11.6. Racism, sexism, homophobia and imperialism affect people in
all classes. However, the class position and relative privilege of
Blacks, women, homosexuals, and colonised people in the exploiting
classes not only gives these individuals a vested interest in
capitalist exploitation, but modifies their experience of oppression.
11.6. We do not believe that these individuals can, in general,
play a useful or liberating role in destroying the main basis of all
oppression: capitalism and the State. Instead these individuals,
unless they genuinely adopt a class struggle Anarchist/ Syndicalist
position, will tend to either divert the struggle, or hijack it for
their own benefit.
* The Power Of The Working Class
12. The working masses are not powerless. They carry society on
their shoulders through their labour. It is precisely because of this
fact that the working class has real; power, the power to halt and
defeat the class enemy. By action at the point of production, such as
strikes, they can injure the boss class <18>.
12.1. Important concessions can be won from the ruling class in
the pre- revolutionary period by mass action, particularly in the
workplace. We therefore support action in the workplace, and also
argue that progressive struggles should be linked to the power of the
workers.
12.2. The revolution must involve the direct seizure if the land,
factories, mines etc. from the bosses and the placing of these means
of production under workers control. It is therefore essential that
Anarchists make revolutionary propaganda and help to build democratic
workers organisations in the workplaces. SEE POSITION PAPER ON
UNIONS FOR MORE DISCUSSION ON THIS
POINT.
13. It is true that the concentration of workers in large
factories in a co-operative/ interdependent labour process aids the
class struggle by making organising easier, and class consciousness
stronger.
13.1. But we are opposed to the idea that this gives the urban
industrial workers a "leading" role in the revolution in comparison
with other elements of the working masses.
13.2. Peasants are as capable of mass struggle and revolutionary
action as workers and it is nonsense to see them as a disunited "sack
of potatoes" or as the inevitably reactionary defenders of private
property. These points are clearly shown by the leading role of
peasants in the Spanish Revolution (1936-7) <19>.
6. ON ELECTIONS
14. Elections are not a form of class struggle.
14.1. We unconditionally support and defend the right to vote, and
the other civil and political rights that go alongside it in a
bourgeois/ capitalist democracy.
14.2. But we need to recognise that these rights were only won and
can only be defended by working class struggle. The State is not some
neutral tool at the disposal of the majority, but a weapon of the
bosses: real power does not lie in parliament but in the company
boardrooms, the State bureaucracy and the military. We are not saying
that the different political parties will not implement different
policies to each other but we are saying that all the parties will
conform to the constraints imposed by the nature of the State.
14.3. In addition, we are opposed to the idea that 400 people in
parliament have the right to make decisions for the 40 million people
outside it. All power must be exercised by the working class as a
whole through grassroots worker and community councils. The unions
and the civic associations will provide the basis for these councils.
7. IN DEFENCE OF CLASS POLITICS
15. The bourgeoisie and others claim that the class struggle is
irrelevant. We disagree.
16. The argument that claims that the working class is somehow
"disappearing" is totally wrong <20>.
16.1. On a global scale the blue collar or industrial working
class is growing (e.g.. in the Newly Industrialising Countries of the
Third World such as Brazil, Korea, South Africa). The "Third World"
includes Africa, Asia, South America, and, arguably, parts of the ex-
Eastern bloc.
16.2. While it is true that service sector and white- collar jobs
have expanded considerably in the First World , these jobs are by
nature working class as they involve neither ownership or economic
control of the means of production. In other words they are based on
exploitation through the wages system. By the "First World" we mean
the advanced industrial capitalist countries of West Europe, the
United States of America, Canada, Australia, and Japan.
16.3 It is theoretically flawed to identify the working class
purely with blue collar industrial workers. If we define a class in
terms of the technology it uses (e.g.. industry and machines) rather
than in terms of its position in society (e.g.. exploitation through
the wage system) we end up with an absurd situation where every
technological breakthrough is seen to herald the end of the working
class. It needs to be remembered that while capitalism is a dynamic
system that constantly changes its technology, it never changes its
nature: a class system.
16.4. No class system (e.g.. capitalism) can exist without the
exploitation of a working class majority and therefore the working
class cannot "disappear" until stateless socialism is established
<21>.
17. It is wrong to argue that the working class has "sold out" to
capitalism, particularly in the First World.
17.1. One version of this argument claims that the factory
situation somehow inevitably teaches the workers to accept
capitalism, the bosses, greed etc. This view is deterministic and
simplistic. History is a complex process that does not have any
inevitable outcomes. What happens depends on the interaction of a lot
of different factors. Whether or not workers accept their bosses and
exploitation depends on such factors as the strength of revolutionary
influences, political traditions, levels of poverty etc.
17.2. Another version of this argument is that the working class
has "sold out" to consumerism and has become moderate because of its
"improving living standards". In fact, poverty and inequality in the
First World have always remained high, and have in fact been steadily
increasing since the end of the post- World War Two capitalist boom.
The capitalist system is unable to deliver to the needs of the masses
in order to "buy them out".
17.3. For example, in the United Kingdom (UK) at the start of the
1980s, the top 10% of the population received 23.9% of total income
while the bottom 10% received only 2.5%. The top 10% of the
population also owned four fifths of all personal wealth, and 98% of
all privately held company shares and stocks. The top 1% itself owned
80% of all stocks and shares. Meanwhile the bottom 80% of the
population owned just 10% of the personal wealth, mostly in the form
of owning the house they live in. These economic inequalities
correspond to material deprivation and hardship. A study published in
1979 found that about 32% of the population of the UK (15-17.5
million out of a population of 55.5 million) was living in or near
poverty. A 1990 United Nations survey of child health in the UK
showed that 25% of children were malnourished to the extent that
their growth was stunted <22>.
17.4. For a refutation of the claim that First World workers share
in the profits of imperialism or racism and are therefore
non-revolutionary, SEE POSITION PAPERS ON
FIGHTING RACISM AND
ANTI-IMPERIALISM.
18. The argument that class struggle politics ignores non- class
forms of oppression such as racism and sexism and must therefore be
replaced by the so- called "new social movements" based on single
issues such as women's rights, anti- racism and gay rights is also
wrong.
18.1. We support, defend, and work within the "new social
movements." But this should not blind us to their very real limits as
agents of revolutionary change.
18.2. We need to recognise that these movements generally contain,
and are dominated by, middle and upper class elements (and ideas)
bent on hi- jacking them to win a better place at the top of the
capitalist heap as "politically correct" bosses. Such elements have a
vested interest in capitalism and the State that makes them unable to
attack these forms of oppression at their roots.
18.3. In addition, the "new social movements" are often built
around small minorities: gays, racial minorities in the First World
and so on. It is difficult to see how such small groups can overturn
capitalism and the State. The working class (and peasants) by
contrast make up the majority of every society on this planet. In
addition, these classes include the majority of the people who make
up the "new social movements".
18.4. As noted above, class struggle does not ignore racism,
sexism etc. These are part of the class struggle. Therefore
multi-calls movements of specially oppressed groups can not defeat
those special oppressions, however good their intentions.
18.5. What we need to do is to work in or with the "new social
movements" to develop class politics in these organisations (with the
obvious exception of political parties), to expel the opportunist
mis- leaders and to link these struggles and organisations to the
trade union movement and other workers struggles (e.g. around rent
boycotts).
19. It is wrong to pretend that Anarchism is not an ideology of
class struggle. Anarchism emerged in its modern form in the
federalist wing of the First International Workers Association and in
the twentieth century developed in the direction of Anarcho-
syndicalism (or Anarchist/ revolutionary trade unionism). All the
classic Anarchists (Bakunin, Kropotkin, Reclus, Malatesta, Goldman,
Berkman, Makhno, Archinov, Maximov, Rocker, Durruti etc. etc.)
believed in the centrality for class struggle even where they dealt
with issues such as decolonisation (e.g.. Bakunin) <23> and
women's rights (e.g.. He Zhen, Emma Goldman, the Mujeres Libres
Anarchist women's group in Spain) <24>.
TO SUM UP
(1) class is a form of exploitation and domination that affects
the vast majority of people in the world today
(2) only the working class (and working peasantry) produce social
wealth
(3) only a productive class can destroy capitalism and the state
and create a free society because only a productive class does not
need to exploit or benefit from the current system.
(4) in addition, the fact that the working class produces all
value gives the class enormous power to fight its oppressors by means
of workplace action. Working class organisation is facilitated by the
concentration of workers in large workplaces
(5) class is not the only form of oppression but all forms of
oppression are rooted in the capitalist/ State system and can
therefore only be permanently destroyed by a working class
revolution. At the same time, the class struggle can only win if it
consistently opposes all forms of oppression. In addition, class
position modifies the experience of other forms of oppression, thus
underlining the need for a class perspective. It follows that the
fight against special oppression can only succeed on the basis of
class struggle, whilst the class struggle can only succeed if it
opposes all special oppressions.
(6) Only the working and poor people can destroy the root cause of
all oppression because only they do not have an interest in
preserving the system. The class struggle can only win on the basis
of opposing all forms of oppression.
(7) Only class struggle and revolution can genuinely change
society
NOTES
<1>. see, among others, Makhno, Archinov et al, [1926], The
Organisational Platform of the Libertarian Communists, reprinted by
Workers Solidarity Movement. Ireland. p14,16; R. Rocker, (1948),
"Anarchism and Anarcho- syndicalism," in F. Gross (ed.) European
Ideologies: a survey of twentieth century political ideas.
Philosophical Library. New York. pp. 370-371; A. Berkman, (1989),
What is Communist Anarchism? Phoenix Press. London. pp. 3,5-6,72-4;
A. Berkman, (1964), ABC of Anarchism. Freedom Press. London. p50.
<2>. figures from Whiteford, A., (March 11-17 1994), "The
Poor Get Even Poorer," in Weekly Mail and Guardian, p.8. See also
Pearce, J., (March 17-23 1995), "Still a land of Inequality," in
Weekly Mail and Guardian. pp. 8-9
<3>. The precolonial Swazi and Zulu states were examples of
the tributary mode of production. See (e.g.). Wright, J, and C
Hamilton, (1989), "Traditions and Transformations," in Duminy, A, and
B Guest (eds.), Natal and Zululand from Earliest Times to 1910.
University of Natal. See also Hall, M., (1987), "Archaeology and
Modes of Production in Pre-Colonial Southern Africa", in Journal of
Southern African Studies vol. 14, no. 1
<4>."see Makhno et al, [1926], pp. 17-18; Rocker, 1948, pp.
349-353; Berkman, 1989, chapter 3, 8, 10, 13; Berkman, 1964, Ch. 2.
Also see "After the Collapse of Socialism: anarchism today" in
Workers Solidarity: a revolutionary Anarchist magazine, no 1,
May/June 1995. Johannesburg. pp. 8-12. Also see Sam Dolgoff (ed.),
(1973) Bakunin on Anarchy: selected works of the activist founder of
world anarchism (Allen and Unwin); and P.A. Kropotkin, (1970),
Selected Writings on Anarchism and Revolution (M.Miller (ed.). MIT
Press: Cambridge, Mass. and London, England))
<5>. Berkman 1989, chapter 2
<6>. This definition draws heavily on Class War,
(1992),Unfinished Business: the Politics of Class War. AK Press and
CWF. chapter 3. This is essentially the same as that given in E.O.
Wright, (1978), Class, Crisis, and the State, New Left Books. London.
<7>. see Wright, (1978); Laclau, E., (1971), "Feudalism and
Capitalism in Latin America," in New Left Review, no. 67.
<8>. This section on the peasantry draws on Bundy, C.,
(1972), "The Emergence and Decline of a South African Peasantry," in
African Affairs, no. 71 esp. p371; and H. Johnson, (1988), "Survival
and Change on the Land," in B. Crow, M. Thorpe et al, Survival and
Change in the Third World. Cambridge. Polity Press
<9>. Yudelman, D. (1983), The Emergence Of Modern South
Africa: State, Capital And The Incorporation Of Organised Labour On
The South African Gold Fields 1902-39. p17; Posel, D, (1991), The
Making Of Apartheid 1948-61: Conflict And Compromise. Clarendon
Press. Cambridge. pp. 21-2
<10>. Makhno et al, [1926], pp. 17-18; Rocker, 1948, p349
<11>. Rocker, 1948, p349
<12>. Makhno et al, [1926], pp. 17-18; Rocker, 1948, 349-50;
Class War, 1992, pp. 45-7.
<13>. Posel, 1991, pp. 20-1; Yudelman, 1983, pp. 37-42.
<14>. see also Class War, 1992, pp. 43-5; J. Natrass,
(1988), The South African Economy: Its Growth And Change. Oxford
University Press. Cape Town. pp. 226-231 on these points.
<15>. "Any class may be revolutionary in its day and time;
only a productive class may be libertarian in nature, because it does
not need to exploit" (A. Meltzer, Anarchism, Arguments For And
Against, pp. 14-15).
<16>. Class War, (1992),Unfinished Business: The Politics Of
Class War. AK Press and CWF. p83; Kropotkin, An Appeal to the Young,
various editions.
<17>. Our analysis of the question of separate organisation
draws heavily on the ideas of the Mujeres Libres (Anarchist womens'
group in Spain): see M.A. Ackelsberg, (1993), "Models of Revolution:
rural women and Anarchist collectivisation in Spain," Journal of
Peasant Studies, 20 (3); P. Carpena, (1986), "Spain 1936: Free Women-
a Feminist, Proletarian And Anarchist Movement," in M. Gadant (ed.),
Women of the Mediterranean. Zed Books. London and New Jersey; V.
Ortiz, (1979), "Mujeres Libres: Anarchist Women In The Spanish Civil
War," In Antipode: A Radical Journal Of Geography 10 (3) & 11
(1).
<18>. see Berkman (1989), chapter 12; Rocker (1948), pp.
370-1.
<19>. see E. Conlon, (1993), The Spanish Civil War:
Anarchism In Action. Workers Solidarity Movement. Dublin; D. Geurin,
(1971), Anarchism: From Theory To Practice. Monthly Review Press. pp.
114-143; anon. Anarchism in Action: the Spanish Revolution. Aldgate
Press. London.
<20>. G. Purchase, (1993), "Rethinking the Fall of State-
Communism," in Rebel Worker: Paper of the Anarcho- Syndicalist
Federation. 12 (9). Australia. pp. 15-6.
<21>. see Class War, (1992),Unfinished Business: The
Politics Of Class War. AK Press and CWF. p83; Mark McGuire, (1993),
"Book Review Corner," Rebel Worker: Paper Of The Anarcho- Syndicalist
Federation. 12 (6). Australia.
<22>. Figures for the UK from Robert Lekachman and Borin van
Loon, (1981), Capitalism for Beginners. Pantheon Books. New York,
esp. 44-5, 67, 70. and Class War (1992),Unfinished Business: The
Politics Of Class War. AK Press and CWF, p. 77. For the USA see Lind,
Micheal, The Next American Nation, cited in "Stringing up the
Yuppies", (24 September 1995), Sunday Times, p14; Business Week which
estimated in 1991 36 million Americans (15% of the total population)
were living in poverty; and New York Times, Sept. 25, 1992.
<23>. see D. Geurin, (1971), Anarchism: From Theory To
Practice. Monthly Review Press. pp. 67-9
<24>. see the references for Mujeres Libres given above; for
Emma Goldman see P. Marshall (1993), Demanding The Impossible: A
History Of Anarchism. Fontana. London. pp. 403-9; ), p279.; also P.
Zarrow, 1988, "He Zhen and Anarcho- Feminism in China," Journal of
Asian Studies 47 (4); also see M. Molyneux, 1986, "No God, No Boss,
No Husband: Anarchist Feminism In Nineteenth Century Argentine," in
Latin American Perspectives, 13 (1)
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