Anarchism: Theory and Ideology, Principles and Strategies
Addressing anarchism in a study like this implies taking up three positions developed more broadly in another work (Corrêa, 2012). First, it is argued that anarchism constitutes an ideology, being defined as a “set of thought and action based on ethical precepts that guide collective political behaviors, based on specific strategies. Similar to the political doctrine, it has relations with the theory, but it is not summarized to it” (Corrêa, 2012, p.80). Ideology is distinguished from theory, in the sense that the second is related to the knowledge of society and the first to the interventions that are made on it; therefore, anarchism is characterized more ... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) The objective of this article is to present a summary of research carried out for some years, which culminated in the publication of the book Bandeira Negra: rediscutindo o anarquismo [Black Flag: Rediscussing Anarchism]. As part of a collective process of global research on anarchism, developed by researchers from different parts of the world within the Institute for Anarchist Theory and History (IATH), this book has a general objective: to answer the following question in depth, what is anarchism?
To this end, Bandeira Negra is developed on three fundamental fronts:
Critical assessment of reference studies on anarchism (in Spanish, Portuguese, English and French).
Proposal for a new theoretical-methodological approach for studi... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) This piece by Brazilian anarchist Felipe Corrêa offers important commentary on the concepts of popular power, the state and power more broadly speaking.
“Strong people don’t need leaders”
Emiliano Zapata
The Strategy of Social Transformation
To begin the discussion on popular power it is important to reclaim the idea of social transformation strategy, since our political practice – as anarchists – is what could point toward this transformation. The program of the Anarchist Federation of Rio de Janeiro (FARJ) raises the following about the strategy of social transformation:
“To propose our strategy of social transformation is what we are trying to achieve in this text.... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) PRESENTATION
This dossier was carried out from a nearly two-year survey, which aimed to analyze the resurgence of anarchism, anarcho-syndicalism and revolutionary syndicalism, which occurred worldwide between 1990 and 2019.
The research started thanks to an invitation from Marcel van der Linden — member of the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam (IISG) — who asked me to write a chapter on the topic for his book Global History of Socialism, which will be published in some time in two volumes by Cambridge University Press.
I then dedicated myself to this issue, facing enormous challenges: to understand an immense subject and condensing the results of the research in a restricted space (and, therefore, prior... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Especifismo
Especifismo is a conception of anarchist organization. The term is used and was first advocated by the Uruguayan Anarchist Federation (FAU), with which it refers to the anarchist current that historically defended the need for specific anarchist organization. Thus, the specific organization believes that the struggle must take place on two distinct levels: that of the anarchist organization and that of the popular movements — which must form on the basis of need and not be restricted to a particular ideology as in the case of anarcho-syndicalism. This model of organization has its foundations in classical anarchism, as has been advocated by Mikhail Bakunin, Errico Malatesta, the Dielo Truda Russian exiles, among others.... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Unlike the attempts at change that take place inside the state, there are those alternatives which are outside the state. It is inevitable that we talk in dispute of power, but understanding power as political space, and not as the power of the state and as domination. Power does not necessarily imply domination. Therefore, it is clear that social movements, although generally constituted outside of the state, dispute political space with the state and the representatives of representative democracy. The movements that have or have had, in history, the objective to provide a change of status-quo, and give it a more libertarian direction, certainly disputed political space with reaction and with the state. In the vast majority of cases, to c... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) This text is divided into four main parts for the presentation of Malatesta’s political thought: a.) a brief description of the author’s life, the political environment in which he found himself and his main interlocutors; b.) a theoretical-epistemological discussion, which differentiates science from doctrine/ideology and, therefore, the methods of analysis and social theories of anarchism. A notion that will be applied to the discussion of Malatestan thought itself; c.) theoretical-methodological elements for social analysis; d.) conception of anarchism and strategic positions.
“Errico Malatesta remains alive and integrally present in our spirits and memories”
– Luigi Fabbri
Introduction
To deal ... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) “The state has always been the patrimony of some privileged class:
a priestly class, an aristocratic class, a bourgeois class,
a bureaucratic class in the end.”
— Mikhail Bakunin[1]
This article – almost fully extracted from my book Teoria Bakuniniana do Estado [Bakuninian Theory of the State][2] – aims to realize a brief discussion on the theory of social classes and bureaucracy elaborated by Mikhail Bakunin in his anarchist period.
What are the criteria that define the social classes? Which are the social classes? Are there dominant and oppressed classes? How can class struggle be defined? What is bureaucracy? How does it relate to other social strata? These are some of the questions the te... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) 1
Felipe Corrêa (FC): In this interview I would not only like to address the history of the Federación Anarquista Uruguaya (Uruguayan Anarchist Federation–FAU) – which has been covered in detail in the four volumes of Acción Directa Anarquista: una historia de FAU (Anarchist Direct Action: A History of FAU)[1] – but also the strategy of social transformation proposed by the FAU, which implies especifismo. Noting also that the FAU’s especifismo is of widespread influence in Latin America, and even more so in Brazil – all the especifista organizations in the country, whether consolidated or in formation, are directly influenced by it — how would you define it? For the FAU, what is esp... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) The following piece by Brazilian anarchist Felipe Corrêa reviews contemporary discussions of power from an anarchist perspective and their contributions to a broader theory of power for utilization in building analysis and strategy. To avoid confusion the article title has been changed to refer to an “anarchist theory of power” but we have preserved the articles use of the phrase “libertarian theory of political power” – as outside the U.S. the term “libertarian” has always historically been associated with anarchism.
Part 1: Ibáñez and Libertarian Political Power
In this first article of the series I will use for discussion the article “For a Libertarian Political Powe... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)