An appraisal of the results of the Marxist dictatorship over Russia
Introduction
This pamphlet has a unique interest in that it is written by a man who took an active part in the Russian revolution and who also has a profound knowledge of the theoretical side of the various revolutionary movements. It has the advan-tage, therefore, of combining theoretical knowledge with practical experience.
Our comrade G. Maximov as a scholar and a revolutionist, has rendered a distinguished service to the anarchist movement. He is the author of a number of books, pamphlets, and articles interpreting various phases or anarchism and has lectured extensively on the subject. A comprehensive work by him on the teachings of Bakunin is soon to ... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Introduction
As far as we are aware, this new edition of Bulgaria: The New Spain is the first since the original was published by the Alexander Berkman Aid Fund thirty-five years ago. The title is most apt, for just as Stalinism drowned in blood the Spanish Revolution of 1936 so it drowned in blood, the blood of many thousands of workers and peasants, the Bulgarian Revolution of 1944 when the people of Bulgaria liberated themselves from years of fascist tyranny. Like Spain, Bulgaria had a powerful libertarian movement, a movement which constituted the major obstacle to Stalinism’s efforts at establishing a bureaucratic dictatorship on the Soviet model. Yet despite the hard evidence of Kronstadt, of Ukraine, of Spain, of Bulgari... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) The development of anarcho-syndicalist ideas on working class organization
and the revolutionary struggle for the libertarian reconstruction of society,
from the 1st International to the 1930’s.
A defense of Anarcho-syndicalism against ‘Platformism’ and ‘Synthetical’ anarchism.
Introduction
Contrary to what one might have expected from the key role of Russians in the early history of the doctrine of revolutionary anarchism, Russian anarchism disappeared from the scene soon after the death of Bakunin and did not reappear until the 1905 revolution. Thus when anarchism did reappear in Russia there were formidable competitors already on the scene: the social democrats of Bolshevik, Menshevik ... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Until recently it was held that the Great French Revolution of 1789–93 gave us a classical example of revolution and counter-revolution. Even now many are of the opinion that the period of the Jacobin rule was a revolutionary period, notwithstanding the series of counter- revolutionary measures adopted by the Convent, and that the fall of the Jacobins signified the beginning of the counter- revolution. Hence, it is inferred that there can be no counter-revolution as long as the party brought forward by the revolution is still in power. counter-revolution sets in, we are told, with the downfall of the party and the class leading the revolution, with the triumph of a more moderate party, with the liquidation of the revolutionary conques... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Taking as point of departure the Marxian theory of centralization, of the “dictatorship of the proletariat,” of the state and its role in the period of transition from Capitalism to Communism, during which the state is supposed to be not a free institution but the organ of repression and annihilation of the enemies and adversaries of the Proletariat, Lenin inescapably and logically arrived at the conclusion that the “dictatorship of the proletariat” in reality is something like the “slaveholding democracy” of ancient Greece. This was, as we have already showed, the argument he used against K. Kautsky.
But he overlooked the very elementary fact that (as every high school boy knows) the slaveholding ... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) “I believe that it behooves every honest individual to urge the toiling masses not to let the flames of revolution be extinguished. On the contrary, their orbit should be widened, through a stimulated alertness and independence and the creation of free labor institutions. These should be of a type suitable to take into the workers’ own hands, on the overthrow of capitalism, the organization of a free life upon the just principles of dignified work.”
My View of Capitalism
At the base of contemporary capitalist society lies the principle of private property, owing to which society is divided into two fundamental classes — the capitalists and the proletariat. The former and less numerous class possesses al... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Introduction
Modern Society in the Light of Anarchism
Contemporary society is a Capitalist society. Its foundation is the principle of private property. Its main characteristic is production for trade. The relationships of this kind of production are such that the means of production all goods and their distribution, as well as a large portion of the wages of the workers belong to an insignificant number of persons — the capitalist class. The huge mass of the population consists of owners of labor-power only — physical and intellectual labor — which they sell to the capitalists; these include the proletariat, the poor peasants and those in medium circumstances, and the small craftsmen who use their labor-power in... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Cynicism about the possibility of change, of creating a revolution in our everyday lives is common now and one of the biggest obstacles that anarchists have to fight. The State Communist bureaucracy in the Soviet Union destroyed the possibility of true freedom and liberty and we would do well to remind ourselves just how perceptive anarchist criticisms of this monolith were. Maximoff’s article is pungent and precise in its critique with his final paragraph sadly not yet realized. 63 years on and still a lot to do!
Until recently it was held that the Great French Revolution of 1789–93 gave us a classical example of revolution and counter-revolution. Even now many are of the opinion that the period of the Jacobin rule was a... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) "Discussing the activities and role of the Anarchists in the Revolution, Kropotkin said: 'We Anarchists have talked much of revolutions, but few of us have been prepared for the actual work ,to be done during, the process. I have indicated some things in this relation in my Conquest of Bread. Pouget and Pataud have also sketched a line of action in their work on Syndicalism and the Cooperative Commonwealth.
Kropotkin thought that the Anarchists had not given sufficient to the fundamental elements of the social revolution. The real facts in a revolutionary process do not consist so much in actual fighting--that is, merely the destructive phase necessary to clear the way for constructive effort. The basic factor in a revolution is the o... (From: Anarchy Archives.)
