Post-left anarchy

Post-left anarchy is a recent current in anarchist thought that promotes a critique of anarchism's relationship to traditional leftism. Some post-leftists seek to escape the confines of ideology in general. Post-left anarchy is marked by a focus on social insurrection and a rejection of leftist social organisation. [cite book |chaptertitle=Introduction |last=Macphee |first=Josh |title=Realizing the Impossible |publisher=AK Press |location=Stirling |year=2007 |isbn=1904859321 ] It has rapidly developed since the fall of the Soviet Union, which resulted in the decline of authoritarian leftism.Fact|date=June 2008

Arguments

The left, even the revolutionary left, post-leftists argue, is anachronistic and incapable of creating change. Post-left anarchy offers critiques of radical strategies and tactics which it considers antiquated: the demonstration, class-oriented struggle, focus on tradition, and the inability to escape the confines of history. The book "Anarchy in the Age of Dinosaurs", for example, criticizes traditional leftist ideas and classical anarchism while calling for a rejuvenated anarchist movement. The CrimethInc. essay "Your Politics Are Boring as Fuck" is another critique of "leftist" movements:

Some post-anarchists have come to similar conclusions, if for different reasons:

Conflicts with leftism

Advocates of post-left anarchy argue that anarchism has been weakened by its long attachment to contrary leftist movements and single-issue causes (anti-war, anti-nuclear, etc.). It calls for a synthesis of anarchist thought and a specifically anti-authoritarian revolutionary movement outside of the authoritarian leftist milieu. It sometimes focuses on the individual rather than speaking in terms of class and in some cases shuns organizational tendencies in favor of attempts at absence of hierarchy, with some attention paid to the idea that informal, unstructured groups tend to create informal hierarchies.

The authoritarian left, post-leftists argue, is anachronistic and incapable of effecting change. Several post-leftists have also argued that an essential element of authoritarian leftism is a reliance on "compulsory moralism". Such socialized value judgements perpetuate alienation and an inability on the part of individuals to think critically. Post-leftists believe that anarchism necessitates organic, subjectively derived self-theory.

Proponents and detractors

Groups and individuals associated with Post-left anarchism include CrimethInc., Jason McQuinn, Bob Black, and the magazines ' and "Green Anarchy". The ideas associated with post-left anarchy have been criticized by other anarchists, notably Murray Bookchin, whose polemic, ', attacks these recent trends in anarchist thinking. Bob Black wrote a book in response to Bookchin's arguments called "Anarchy After Leftism".

ee also

*Green syndicalism
*Illegalism
*Insurrectionary anarchism
*Left anarchism
*Post-structuralism
*Situationist International

References

Further reading

*cite book |last=Black |first=Bob |authorlink=Bob Black |title=Anarchy after Leftism |publisher=CAL Press |location=Birmingham |year=1997 |isbn=9781890532000

External links

*" [http://www.infoshop.org/afterleftism.html Anarchy After Leftism] " a comprehensive primer and portal from Infoshop.org
*" [http://anarchism.ws/postleft.html Primitivist and post-left 'anarchism'] " from Anarchism.ws