UtopianMag.com

Iran Statement of the Utopian Tendency

We condemn this murder of Suleimani– the latest in a long line of terrorist acts committed by the U.S. war and “intelligence” machine. We oppose the U.S. belligerent escalation and demand an end to the U.S. economic and political sanctions against Iran. We call for the U.S. to immediately recall all of its forces from the region—from Iraq (as demanded by the Iraqi parliament), from Syria, and the entire region, and to as rapidly as possible bring all U.S. forces home and close all foreign bases. We advocate an independent, militant, mass movement, one which engages in disruptive actions.

Utopian Position Statement: Who We Are

The cure for privatization is not to increase the power and authority of the state (be it by regulation, taxation, or nationalization) but to dismantle the state (the standing army and the cops; the nightmare bureaucracies) and to reorganize society, cooperatively and democratically from the bottom up, locally based and with emphasis on mutual aid. We are confident that new mass movements from below will rise again, in a massive surge, as did Occupy in 2011. And we hope and anticipate that, like Occupy (in its initial stages, at least), these movements will reject reformism and statism.

Friends of The Utopian Gather

Over the weekend of July 26-28, 2019 Friends of the Utopian gathered in Los Angeles for an exchange of views and opportunity for personal connection. People attended from New York City, Detroit, Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Bay Area and the Los Angeles area.

Why I Feel Sorry for Bernie Sanders

So, at or near the end of his political career, Bernie Sanders, a long-time socialist activist (I suspect he once considered himself a revolutionary), is on national TV during the recent Democratic debate. It is becoming obvious that he is not going to win the nomination; in this situation, Bernie has lobbed at him, like a huge softball being thrown underhand (the kind almost anybody can hit), a simple question, “What, to you, is 'democratic socialism?'” And Bernie Sanders answers, in what seemed to me to be a very tired voice, “It is what they have in Canada and in the Scandinavian countries….”

Russian Revolution Part V: The Bolsheviks, Victor Serge, and the Myth of the Commune-State

It has been argued, and believed by some groups on the left, that the Bolsheviks intended to, and did, maintain these [popular, working class] organizations in their revolutionary-democratic form as the institutional framework for discussion among the workers and poor peasants over the “dictatorship of the proletariat” in Russia. This claim is a myth, a fantasy that completely obscures: (1) the kind of state Lenin and his allies in the Bolshevik Party intended to establish in the event of their seizure of state power in Russia; and (2) the nature of the regime the Bolsheviks actually established when they did take power.

Reply to the Grayzone Slander

A disgusting article by Grayzone founder Max Blumenthal and Grayzone reporter Ben Norton targets the sponsors of the “Socialism 2019” conference held in Chicago in early July -- DSA, Jacobin, and former members of the recently dissolved ISO – and also slams the magazine New Politics and the group Solidarity. It is in the tradition of Stalinist hit jobs; slander truly worthy of the Comintern of the 1930s.

Thoughts on the Left

Perhaps it is just my old age and my cynicism talking, but I am actually afraid of this movement. Despite the fact that I share many of the current left’s concerns and agree with many of its demands, I do not want this movement to succeed. I don’t want it to grow. For this reason, I have, for some time now, described my political position as being “on, but not of, the left.” I despise the current left, and virtually all its tendencies. This includes the contemporary anarchist movement.

The Utopian, Vol. 18, No. 3, October 2019

Cover and contents of The Utopian vol. 18, no. 3 (October 2019). Articles and discussion include: Thoughts on the Left; Reply to Grayzone Slander; Russian Revolution series, Part 5; Why I Feel Sorry for Bernie Sanders; Friends of Utopian News; Who We Are. For previous issues, see "Updates and New Discussion" (vol. 18, no. 2) and Archives.

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It's Going Down! (A Rabbit Hole in Rojava)

[R]evolutionary anarcho-socialists have an obligation to defend Rojava in the name of defending oppressed people’s right to determine their own governance and alliances while not endorsing their forms. But the It’s Going Down statement ... presents something else. It alludes to defending the Kurds and others as oppressed minorities but at the same time is an example of political capitulation. While calling for actions which are absolutely necessary to stop the Turkish invasion of Rojava/DFNS, it also politically endorses the top-down PYD/PKK regime in Rojava/DFNS as an ‘inspiring multi-ethnic experiment’; and, by implication, sides with imperialism.

Reply to the Grayzone Slander

On July 6, The Grayzone (https://thegrayzone.com), a self-described "investigative journalism" web site, published a disgusting article by Grayzone founder Max Blumenthal and Grayzone reporter Ben Norton. The piece targets the sponsors of the “Socialism 2019” conference held in Chicago in early July -- DSA, Jacobin, and former members of the recently dissolved ISO – and also slams the magazine New Politics and the group Solidarity. It is in the tradition of Stalinist hit jobs; slander truly worthy of the Comintern of the 1930s.

This hit job is Grayzone’s response to speakers at the Socialism 2019 conference who criticized regimes that Grayzone calls “independent foreign governments that are targeted by the US government for regime change, such as Nicaragua, Cuba, Syria, Iran, China, and Russia.” Grayzone’s website is filled with pieces whitewashing the actions of these regimes, with not a single piece critical of their anti-democratic, brutal actions other than to deny that such things happened. Anyone who raises criticisms is the enemy, an “anti-anti-imperialist”, to be taken down with slander and innuendo.

The Utopian Vol. 18 No. 1, January 2019

Single-PDF version of The Utopian vol. 18, no. 1 (January 2019). Articles on school stikes and the crisis in public education, climate change, and the Democratic party, plus book reviews and, as a special section, a revised Who We Are statement, for comment. For previous issues, see "Updates and New Discussion" (vol. 17, no. 5) and Archives.

Who We Are: Utopian Tendency Statement

In small ways, every day, people live by cooperation, not competition. Filling in for a co-worker, caring for an old woman upstairs, helping out at AA meetings, donating and working for disaster relief – people know how to live cooperatively on a small scale. What we don’t know, and no one has found a blueprint for, is how to live cooperatively on a national and international scale – even on the scale of a mass political movement.

'Me Too' Movement--Comments and Discussion

I find myself in direct opposition to Rod's point of view on the 'me too' movement. In my view, this is an important grass-roots movement. Women are sick and tired of being harassed and assaulted by men, especially those holding positions of power.--Eric

What, then, is Eric directly opposing? I think he is opposing my implied criticisms of the Me-Too movement. Assuming this is so, I will make these criticisms more direct, and less implied, in the hopes we can discuss and debate what we actually disagree about. I will also make the case for why these criticisms should be voiced.--Rod

Some Initial Considerations on Ihlan Omar, the Palestinians, and Anti-Semitism

Omar’s comments and the controversy that ensued served to muddy the waters still further and to allow those who wish to tar all defenders of the Palestinian cause with the brush of anti-Semitism to continue to do so. I am prepared to accept that Ihlan Omar is not personally anti-Semitic. However, there is little doubt in my mind that her tweets and other comments promoted anti-Semitic motifs which I, personally – as both a militant supporter of the Palestinians and a strongly identified Jew – found offensive.

The California Teacher Movement--A Report and Assessment

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the teacher movement in California is not building on, or even replicating, the most important positives of the red state teacher strikes. In California teacher locals are striking one at a time -- Los Angeles in January; Oakland in February; Union City in May (they're on strike now). And the main statewide teacher union, CTA, heavily pushes a very legalistic and very cautious approach, one that relies on appealing to Democratic party politicians on a very passive, "seat at the table", don't confront -- collaborate approach.

Remarks on the Mueller Report

Leaving aside strictly legal and political judgments, it seems patently obvious to me that Mueller’s conclusions on the facts of the matter are absurd. How dull does one have to be not to recognize that Donald Trump, his family, business associates, and campaign staff are political stooges of Vladimir Putin and the oligarchs/mobsters that surround him! The Russians own Donald Trump!

The Utopian Vol. 18 No. 2

Cover and contents of The Utopian vol. 18, no. 2 (June 2019). Articles and discussion on the Mueller Report, the California Teacher Movement, Ihlan Omar and Anti-Semitism, and #Mee Too. For previous issues, see "Updates and New Discussion" (vol. 18, no. 1) and Archives.

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The Utopian, Vol. 17, No. 5, August 2018 (Part 2)

Single-PDF version of our previous issue, The Utopian, vol. 17, no. 5, August 2018. Articles and discussion on the "red state" teacher strikes, anarchism and social relations, Lenin's State and Revolution, activism and the Democratic Party, and gun violence. For earlier issues see Archives. Because of the length of this issue, it is split into two PDFs.

The Utopian, Vol. 17, No. 5, August 2018 (Part 1)

PDF version of our previous issue, The Utopian, vol. 17, no. 5, August 2018. Articles and discussion on the "red state" teacher strikes, anarchism and social relations, Lenin's State and Revolution, activism and the Democratic Party, and gun violence. For earlier issues see Archives. Because of the length of this issue, it is split into two PDFs.

Utopian Position Statement: Who We Are

Utopians do not accept “what is” as “what must be.” We see potential for freedom even in the hardest of apparent reality. Within our oppressive society are forces for hope, freedom, and human solidarity, possibilities pressing toward a self-managed, cooperative commonwealth. We don’t know if these forces will win out; we see them as hopes, as moral norms by which to judge society today, as challenges to all of us to act in such a way as to realize a fully human community.

Revised "Who We Are" Statement (Draft)

Below is a revised version of the ‘Who We Are’ statement that appears at the end of each issue of The Utopian. The decision to revise the statement was made at the group’s August 2018 meeting. Subsequently, a revised draft was written, and amendments submitted, discussed and voted on. The amended draft printed here includes a paragraph on climate change that has not been separately approved. Supporters of The Utopian are asked to indicate approval of the entire statement or not.

Book Review - James Baldwin and the Heavenly City, by Christopher Z. Hobson

Chris contends that, of these two contrasting world-views [blues-based skepticism, Gospel-based hope - Ed.], Baldwin wants us to choose the second and to actively work for it. Despite his impressive efforts, Chris has not managed to completely convince me of his position. Based on the material that he presents, I can make a case that what Baldwin might be saying is that life - Black life, gay life, the life of all of us - is actually the nteraction, the oscillation, between the two points of view.

Fighting Climate Change - What Is to Be Done?

I am skeptical that capitalism will do what's needed until the situation becomes much graver. And it would very likely try to do so by top down, autarchic means. And even those will surely be too late to avert much suffering. - Jack Gerson

The earth is headed toward a catastrophic crisis within a very few decades and all that is on offer is business as usual.... The idea that capitalism can deal with climate change seems to me to be fantasy. - Eric Chester

I think that it is crucial to add something about the need for the radical dismantling and reorganizing of industrial agriculture in this country and around the world. - Jon M.

Thoughts on the Democratic Party

Unlike the US constitution, which was explicitly devised to sustain the rule of an elite, the two-party system was not consciously developed to achieve this end. Despite this, it has certainly functioned this way over the course of its more than two centuries of existence. In fact, it is hard to conceive how an arrangement of political parties that was consciously designed to “divide and rule” could have achieved that result any better than the current, spontaneously evolved, one.

Crisis in Public Education

It’s absolutely true that the driving force in low student achievement, its highest correlate, is inequality – poverty – and that’s a function of race and class. So, it’s not going to be eliminated under capitalism. But how do we make the fight for better education part of, and connected to, a fight against capitalism? Right now, we have a fight on our hands against the destruction of public education nationwide. We have to take that defensive struggle and turn it into an offensive struggle. But we don’t do that by starting with simply revolution. We have to do both.

The Utopian, Vol. 18, No. 1, January 2019

Cover and contents of The Utopian vol. 18, no. 1 (January 2019). Articles on school stikes and the crisis in public education, climate change, and the Democratic party, plus book reviews and, as a special section, a revised Who We Are statement, for comment. For previous issues, see "Updates and New Discussion" (vol. 17, no. 5) and Archives.

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Who We Are: Utopian Position Statement

Guns, Violence, Youth Liberation

Over the past year, The Utopian has carried discussions of guns, gun control, student actions around gun violence, self-defense of militant movements and armed self-defense of oppressed peoples. Two articles relevant to these issues appear on the following pages. We hope they stimulate further discussion.

Global Warming, Youth, and the Democratic Party

I don't care if people vote for democrats because they view the vote as a lesser evil, but I do care whether they understand the system and are willing to become part of the struggle against it. So while I agree with your stated principled opposition to the DP, I feel the most important aspect of that opposition is finding ways to have meaningful conversations with those who need to more fully understand the role the DP plays. We need to share strategies about how to engage in these struggles and fight along side other activists in the struggle. --Mary

I do care about whether people swallow lesser evilism; I don’t agree that voting for Democrats is irrelevant but think that it’s a trap... I think that we need to be clear on what’s going on: what does the mainstream of the Democratic Party represent; what do Warren, Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez represent; why are they in the same party; why supporting Sanders / Ocasio-Cortez / ... will lead to channeling whatever movements there are into focusing on the November elections and then, ultimately, demoralization. --Jack

Lenin's Vision of the Bolshevik State

Revolutionary Marxists of various kinds consider the early Bolshevik regime to have been a “workers’ democracy” which, had it not had to contend with counterrevolutionary and imperialist forces and had proletarian revolutions broken out in Europe as the Bolsheviks predicted, would have led Russia to become a truly democratic socialist society. It is my contention, however, that, even had events evolved as Lenin and the other Bolsheviks expected, the outcome would not have been a democratic workers’ government but instead a bureaucratic, authoritarian, even totalitarian, regime similar to the one that actually emerged. This is because I believe that Lenin’s conception of the “dictatorship of the proletariat” is itself bureaucratic, authoritarian, and totalitarian. To see this, it will be necessary to look closely at The State and Revolution and at the other works in which Lenin laid out his plan.

Thoughts on Anarchy

To me the primary appeal of anarchy is that it envisions the possibility of social organizations based on personal relationships. I see it as a way to organize social relations on a personal basis. It’s a way to make decisions based on discussions among the people, who trust that viable directions/solutions will emerge from their personal interaction. I understand it to be essentially non-hierarchical.... Whether liberal democracies, fundamentalist theocracies, socialist or communist bureaucracies, the thing all other governmental forms have in common is that they are based on stranger relationships.... Personal relationships are essentially different from stranger relationships and they produce essentially different types of people and societies.

Lessons of the Red States Teacher Strikes

The talks by the red state teacher leaders were inspirational as well as educational. They each talked about how they were able overcome anti-strike legislation and build mass strikes despite the weakness of state and local unions. In all three states – West Virginia, Kentucky, Arizona (and I believe that this was true in Oklahoma and North Carolina too) – the organizers worked outside of the formal union structures, using social media to reach out to, and build networks of, initially hundreds, then thousands, and now tens of thousands.

The Utopian, Vol. 17, No. 5, August 2018

Cover and Contents of August 2018 issue, vol. 17, no. 5. Articles and discussion on the "red state" teacher strikes, anarchism and social relations, Lenin's State and Revolution, activism and the Democratic Party, and gun violence.For earlier issues see Updates and New Discussion (vol. 17 no. 4, June 2018) and Archives.

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Utopian Position: Who We Are

As new movements develop, liberal-reform and Marxist ideas will show new life, but so have utopian and libertarian ideas. We work with this in mind. We...need to reinvigorate the ideals of anarchism/libertarian socialism and the threads in today’s world that may, if we can find them and follow them, lead to a future worth dying for and living in.

Report from Barcelona

[T]he people of Catalonia have the right to determine for themselves whether they should remain a part of Spain or form an independent state.... Yet the struggle for independence is only one of several movements that are able to mobilize huge numbers of protestors. These demonstrations are able to bridge the divide arising for the call for independence. We arrived in Barcelona a few days after International Women’s Day, March 8. On that day, a rally brought 500,000 people on to the streets of Barcelona.

Palestine, Israel, Hamas and National Liberation--A Discussion

The more time goes by, the more hardened the Zionist position becomes. So, in my view, the two-state solution is dead. Instead, there is the demand for a democratic secular state in the Palestine, under which all citizens (and languages and religious practices, etc.) have equal rights.--Ron

I strongly condemn the Israeli government and the Israeli right that are repressing and brutalizing Palestinian people. But, that doesn't mean that I support the established organizations that claim to represent them. Many Palestinian people don't support any of those organizations either....--Sylvie

[T]he core of our agreement is: ...We support people in struggle against capitalist bosses, imperialist dominators, and other oppressive forces, even where they do not agree with us (at least at whatever moment in time) about revolutionary anarchism more broadly.... We seek to expose people to our point of view, and believe that people are most open to making connections when they are in struggle.--Rod

Donald Trump and Fascism

All too often, progressives have sought to justify their support for the Democratic Party by claiming that Donald Trump is a fascist. Since it is obvious that peaceful street protests continue and trade unions continue to engage in strikes, the underlying argument for this claim can only be that Trump has a secret plan to organize a coup in order to acquire dictatorial powers. Needless to say, there is not a shred of evidence to support such a conspiracy theory.

The Eclipse of Class, or, Keeping the Vision Alive

Speaking personally, I see my main political task at the moment as keeping our ideas and ideals alive in a political climate that is not conducive to their positive reception by any significant section of the American people.... Specifically, three of the fundamental aspects of our program are completely outside the contemporary political discourse: (1) that our society is fundamentally diseased -- cynical, brutal, unjust, and corrupt – and is incapable of being reformed sufficiently to provide all Americans with a decent and meaningful life; (2) that the solution to this problem lies in a popular revolution, an uprising of the vast majority of the people against the tiny elite that runs our society; (3) that this revolution should aim at establishing a truly democratic, egalitarian, and cooperative social system, what we have called “revolutionary libertarian socialism.”

The Utopian, Vol. 17, No. 4, June 2018

Cover and Contents of June 2018 issue, vol. 17, no. 4. Articles and discussion on the eclipse of class, Donald Trump and fascism, Hamas and national liberation, popular struggles in Barcelona (on site report).For earlier issues see Updates and New Discussion (vol. 17 no. 3, April 2018) and Archives.

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"Who We Are" by The Utopian

With a few exceptions, revolutionary anarchist and libertarian socialist groups remain small and their influence limited. Various kinds of reformism and Marxism still attract radical-minded people. Both these ideologies and their corresponding movements accept the state, capital-labor relations, conventional technology, and political authoritarianism. But these are reasons why it is important to continue to work for freedom and speak of utopia.

March for Our Lives--Discussion and Debate

I have strong bias toward a positive orientation to a student movement. No other people (in my experience) are more open to leaps in consciousness, more committed to meaningful aims (vs. self-interest), and more capable of capturing center stage. We will see what emerges.--Rod

As far as I can tell, it is not an oppositional movement. Rather, it is calling on the state to strengthen regulation of firearms. It hopes to accomplish this via electoral means -- by voting for candidates who support gun control and against those who oppose it. This strategy fits hand in glove with the approach of the mainstream of Democrats.--Jack

Cover and Contents The Utopian 17.3

Cover and Contents of our April 2018 issue, vol. 17, no. 3. Special issue on the "March for Our Lives" demonstrations and movement.

For earlier issues see Updates and New Discussion (vol. 17 no. 2, March 2018) and Archives.

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Utopian Who We Are Statement March 2018 Issue

This paradoxical situation – a society in obvious decay but without a mass movement to challenge it fundamentally – is, we hope, coming to an end. As new movements develop, liberal-reform and Marxist ideas will show new life, but so have utopian and libertarian ideas. We work with this in mind. Among other things, revolutionary anarchist and libertarian socialist theory very much needs further development, including its critique of Marxism, and its ideas about mass struggles, democratic and socialist theory, and popular culture. And we need to reinvigorate the ideals of anarchism/libertarian socialism and the threads in today’s world that may, if we can find them and follow them, lead to a future worth dying for and living in.

Guns and Violence

Young people are the most likely segment of our society to look at the deeper issues involved in gun violence/school shootings. Comments from high school students that I have heard to date frequently raise questions about society's values, the apparent dysfunction, if not corruption, of government officials, the fact that young people are not afforded a meaningful voice, etc.... I think it would be a mistake to allow the gun control issue to cut us off from being in solidarity with a youth movement, were it to develop. I welcome others' thoughts.

Whither Global Capitalism?

Haven't we been here before? I mean: no competition; stagnation; da-da-da-da -- then under the auspices of Messrs. Baran and Sweezy. Then whoops -- along came the microelectronics revolution, and small fry starting up businesses in their homes and garages that swelled to gigantic size. Some -- e.g., Apple, with its world-leading stock market valuation, are now the very monsters now cited as strangling competition. I don't think that we're witnessing the end of history -- i.e., I anticipate that there will be new breakthroughs (technological and otherwise) and renewed growth (although likely there will be one or more bubble burstings in the interim).

Perspectives on the U.S. Economy

Precisely how long the current expansion will continue and when the next recession will begin is anyone’s guess. The expansion is already the second longest of any since World War II. Since it was, for a variety of reasons, very slow to pick up momentum, it may well continue for some time. However, given the short-term “disproportionalities” mentioned above and the more fundamental “structural” problems of the economy (among them, the failure of our educational system to prepare the poorer layers of the working class to find work in the contemporary economy, the wide and increasing gap between the 20% at the top of our society and everybody else, and the decay of the country’s infrastructure), I don’t see how a recession can be avoided in the relatively near future.

The Utopian March 2018 Title and Contents

Cover and Contents of our March 2018 issue, vol. 17, no. 2. Analysis and discussion on the U.S. econonmy, the future of the world economy, guns and violence, and more.

For earlier issues see Updates and New Discussion (vol. 17 no. 1, January 2018) and Archives.

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Viewpoint: Who We Are

This racist, sexist, and authoritarian society has not developed any new charms. Even at its best--most stable and peaceful-–it provides a way of life that should be intolerable: a life of often meaningless work and overwork; hatred and oppression within the family, violence from the authorities; the continuing risk of sudden violent death for LGBT people, women, and Black people; the threat of deportation of undocumented immigrants. The very major reforms of the last period of social struggle, in the 1960s, while changing so much, left African Americans and other minority populations in the U.S. and around the world facing exclusion and daily police (state) violence, literally without effective rights to life.

Special Feature: Should Revolutionaries Participate in Electoral Activity?

Eric’s essay is excellent. Everything it said is true, as well as well written. However, there is a fundamental weakness in its perspective. Knowing that the basic political and social problem is capitalism, rather than Trump as an individual, Eric focuses on the dangers of Left support to the Democratic Party. But the problem is not the Democratic Party; the problem is electoralism—that is, Left entanglement in the machinery of bourgeois representative democracy.

The Utopian, Vol. 17, no. 1, January 2018

Cover and Contents for The Utopian vol. 17 no. 1, January 2018. This issue is given over to a special feature: Should Revolutionaries Participate in Electoral Activity?

For earlier issues see Updates and New Discussion (Vol. 16 no. 9, November 2017) and Archives.

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Utopian Standpoint: Who We Are

[W]e are talking about something familiar to everyone, although difficult to get a handle on. In small ways, every day, people live by cooperation, not competition. Filling in for a co-worker, caring for an old woman upstairs, helping out at AA meetings, donating and working for disaster relief – people know how to live cooperatively on a small scale. What we don’t know, and no one has found a blueprint for, is how to live cooperatively on a national and international scale – even on the scale of a mass political movement. Nobody has described how the society we want will look, or how to get it, though we know what it will be – a society where people are free to be good.

Trump and the Left

Implicit in the efforts to defeat Trump is the conviction that the election of a Democrat to the White House, along with the election of a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress, will reverse the impetus of the Trump presidency, while providing the basis for a substantial step forward toward a just and humane society. Liberal Democrats believe that capitalism can be reformed by a benign intervention of the state acting to bring about an acceptable version of the capitalist system. Trump’s election and the furor this has triggered raise acutely two distinct but linked issues: The nature of the Democratic Party and the limits of reform in a globally integrated economy.

Explorations in the Russian Revolution--An Anarchist Interpretation

Since [1917], historians and others interested in the topic have engaged in a debate over the precise nature of the October Revolution. On one side, many mainstream historians, such as Robert Vincent Daniels, in his book Red October, and Richard Pipes, in his History of the Russian Revolution, describe the October overturn as a “Bolshevik coup.” On the other side, an array of Marxists, including Leon Trotsky, in his History of the Russian Revolution, describe what actually occurred as a workers (or proletarian) revolution that was supported by the peasants. In my view, both positions, while accurate in some ways, ultimately mischaracterize the event. This issue involves the nature and limitations of our categories, the ideas and concepts we use to analyze the world in which we live.

The Utopian, Vol. 16, No. 9, November 2017

Cover and Contents for The Utopian vol. 16 no. 9, November 2017--Special issue: The nature of the Russian Revolution, Trump and the Left, and more

For earlier issues see Updates and New Discussion (Vol. 16 no. 8, October 2017) and Archives.

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The Utopian Standpoint: Who We Are

Within our oppressive society are forces for hope, freedom, and human solidarity, possibilities pressing toward a self-managed, cooperative commonwealth. We don’t know if these forces will win out; we see them as hopes, as moral norms by which to judge society today, as challenges to all of us to act in such a way as to realize a fully human community

Stalinism and Social Democracy: A Dialogue

I am using the term "Stalinist" to refer to people who believe that socialism equals total (or almost total) state ownership and control of the economy, and hence, of all society, however they seek to arrive at that goal. In my view, there is a spectrum that ranges from Sanders/DSA all the way through to the various Marxist-Leninist organizations, the CP, Workers World, the SWP, the Spartacist League, the RCP, the CLP, PLP, et. al. To me, they are all "Stalinists." In the United States and increasingly around the world, the revolutionary vs. reformist distinction is losing its relevance.

Charlottesville and Beyond

White supremacists, fascists, and other alt-right bigots descended on Charlottesville on August 12 determined to inflict harm: armed to the teeth and wearing body armor, they marched with torches, chanted vile racist and anti-Semitic slogans, encircled counter-protesters, fired live ammunition into the crowds (as cops stood by), and threatened the lives of anti-racist clergy, culminating in a white supremacist driving his car directly at and through scores of marching counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer and seriously injuring many others.

The Utopian, Vol. 16, No. 8

Cover and Contents for The Utopian vol. 16 no. 8, October 2017--Charlottesville and Beyond, Dialogue on Social Democracy/Stalinism, and more.

For earlier issues see Updates and New Discussion (Vol. 16 no. 7, August 2017) and Archives.

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Utopian Viewpoint: Who We Are

This racist, sexist, and authoritarian society has not developed any new charms. It remains exploitive and unstable, threatening economic collapse and environmental destruction. It wages war around the globe, while nuclear weapons still exist and even spread. Even at its best -- most stable and peaceful – it provides a way of life that should be intolerable: a life of often meaningless work and overwork; hatred and oppression within the family, violence from the authorities; the continuing risk of sudden violent death for LGBT people, women, and Black people; the threat of deportation of undocumented immigrants.

Perspective: Conservatives, Liberals and Progressives

For most of the twentieth century, Marxists mostly argued among themselves about who should lead not the proletariat but rather ever-tinier micro-sects of true believers. Trotsky's Transitional Program set the pattern but, as Uhlmann's approach demonstrates, it is characteristic of a broad swath of human beings, left and right, who do not believe in anything resembling the direct democracy so central to contemporary movements that have made serious political questions once again the order of the day in the United States and shaken, when not toppled, deeply entrenched governments globally.

Dialogue: Hunters, Farmers and the Shaping of the World

That kind of awareness of, and belonging to, the land we inhabit, or something approaching it is, it seems to me, much needed... and totally lost to a people fixated on human-created stimulation. All the people walking around with their ear-buds in and their smart phones ahead will, I'm afraid, have no awareness of, nor reason to want to protect, the beautiful world through which they jog, or walk to school, or -- spandex-clad -- stretch their muscles on bicycles, etc., etc.

Exploration: Automation and the Need for a Social Vision

We are opposed to putting any workers out of work, and we’re opposed to forcing them to take wage cuts and / or to be subjected to degraded working conditions. But just holding the line – fighting to defend the status quo – is a losing proposition. Moreover, it is reactionary: it’s an attempt to take a snapshot of capitalism, as it is today, and fight to freeze it and preserve it. This has been a losing strategy for decades – witness the decimation of the formerly powerful industrial unions that were the backbone of the 1930s labor revolt. And it reflects an unfortunate attitude of much of the left: a fetishizing and romanticizing of wage slavery.

Commentary: Reflections on Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me

If [Coates] believes in anything, it is the precarious survival of the embattled Black beauty he celebrates in his evocation of becoming a people. And, so far as I can tell from the limited sample of my own students, many of today’s Black youth also don’t share either redemptive visions of full freedom...or ideas of finding fuller rights over time. Rather,...many seem to believe in a future that will not change in any basic way, in which they and their children will seek to live in dignity and perhaps gain an improved social position—but not real rights—and will remain prepared to fight discrimination, but will never be truly equal or free. So, if this sketch is at all accurate, many feel as Coates also does. It is this fact about the youth, in my eyes, that makes Coates’ disenchantment about greater freedom truly significant.

Point of View: No to War with North Korea over Nuclear Weapons!

I detest nuclear weapons and believe they should be abolished as soon as possible. They seem to me to epitomize the worst aspects of modern technology. Based on the wonders of contemporary scientific knowledge and technical skill, they are good for only one purpose – destruction, and on a massive scale – and have no redeeming qualities whatsoever....

It is with this as background that I make clear that I support the right of North Korea (and Iran, I might add) to have nuclear weapons and the means to launch them, and I oppose the efforts – via embargoes, sanctions, or threats of military attack - of other states, particularly those who already possess them, to force them to destroy them. Either all nations have the right to have nuclear weapons or no nation should have the right to possess them. Abolish them entirely or allow all states to possess them!

The Utopian, Vol. 16, No. 7, August 2017

Cover and contents of The Utopian vol. 16, no. 7, August 2017. Korean nuclear testing, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Automation and Social Vision, Hunters and Farmers, Conservatives-Liberals-Progressives, and more.

For earlier issues see Updates and New Discussion (Vol. 16 no. 6, June 2017) and Archives.

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Utopian Document: Who We Are

This future, we state clearly, is an ideal, not a certainty.... We believe people have to make ethical choices about whether to accept life as it is or to struggle for a new society, and then about whether the society they are for will be democratic or authoritarian. The only key to the future is a moral determination to get there, a dream of a world in which those who were obscure to one another will one day walk together. We do not know where this key may be found, but we know the only way to find it is to search for it.

A Comment on...What Is Anarchism?

[B]y “anarchy” I mean a society of freely associated humans, organized in voluntary organizations and communities, to carry out all social tasks in freedom. Decentralized, directly democratic, face-to-face work place councils and neighborhood assemblies would manage their own affairs as much as possible, while forming federations and networks on regional, national, continental, and world levels. This is not a state, but the self-organization of the people. The economy would be a federation of self-managing industries, consumer coops, small enterprises, and collective communes.... [T]he police and military would be replaced by an armed and democratically organized people (a popular militia).

Black Bloc, Free Speech, and the Extreme Right Threat

Right now, the left has been wrong-footed on the issue of free speech. The right-wing extremists are gaining in part because they have been aided by media coverage that – at least up until the Portland murders – portrayed them as victims being deprived of their rights to speech and assembly. Unfortunately, too many of their opponents have played into their hands by opposing not just free speech for Nazis, but the right to free speech in general – and I’m not just talking about the black bloc.

The Crisis that Keeps on Giving

Beyond negotiating relations with various groupings and factions among the elite, US global hegemony is also dependent on the image the country projects to the world’s peoples. No ruling group can maintain its hegemony without winning some degree of popular support, both abroad and at home. In other words, image matters, and Trump has significantly tarnished the image of the United States. His colossal ignorance, his clumsiness, and his unbelievable boorishness have made the country the laughingstock of the world. How can anybody take the United States seriously when it is led by such a clod and a clown?

The Utopian, Vol. 16, No. 6 June 2017

Cover and Contents for our June 2017 issue, vol. 16 no. 6. The Trump Administration's continuing crisis, strategy and tactics toward Black Block and extreme right; Comment on "What Is Anarchism?," Who We Are.

For earlier issues see Updates and New Discussion (Vol. 16 no. 5, May 2017) and Archives.

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Utopian Position Statement: Who We Are

End the Deportations!

Statement of The Utopian Tendency, reprinted from Utopian 16.4, May 2017.

Article Recommendations

On Trump's "Turn toward the Center," Sanders-Merkley's "100 by 50 Act," political-social crisis in Venezuela, Trump's "thankfully not-growing base," and more.

Special Feature: 100th Anniversary of the Russian Revolution

Two articles examining aspects of the 1917 Russian Revolution. “The Russian Revolution Unfinished” was written by SK and appears in the Summer issue of the Fifth Estate. “Explorations in the Russian Revolution” is Part Two of a series on the Russian Revolution by Ron Tabor.

Post-Capitalism, Go Local?, Ethics in the Movement

Different takes on Paul Mason, Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future...on Localism as tactic or long-term trend...on Ethics as the basis for law.

French Elections

It seems that the far right program is articulated far more clearly, and popularity, than any far left program (including our own). That said, the liberal (capitalist) center seems to be holding its own against the far right.

U.S. Air Strike on Syria

What I would say to liberals and other supporters of US involvement is: many, many times over the decades, it has looked at first as if US intervention was intended to and would further the cause of peace, democracy, the rights of women and religious and ethnic minorities, but almost inevitably, it has made the situation worse.

Whither the Trump Administration?

I think this means, at least for now, that the Republican traditionalists (Mattis, McMaster, Kelly, and the arrive-iste Tillerson) have won Trump over on foreign policy. At the very least, Bannon's influence will decline further. His best step would be to resign now (soon) and denounce Trump for going over to the Establishment, the people he claimed to be fighting against.

Whither the Movement?

I agree that at this point the motion is largely within and around the Democratic Party. Still, it points to something.... I think that we'll continue to see a process of polarization, with the left at first largely confined to the Democrats, but not uniformly or uncritically.

Free Mumia!

[T]he state finally gave up and Mumia began receiving the current medical standard treatment on 6 April. This is a big victory both for Mumia and for 5000-7000 other prisoners in Pennsylvania alone who also are sick with hepatitis C.

Tax Day / March for Science

There was a sea of homemade signs, and like L.A., their focus was very much on Trump's taxes, with some anti-bombing stuff on the side. The chants we heard were the 'hey, hey, ho, ho...' one plus, 'this is what democracy looks like!'---and, 'lock him up!' (NYC Tax Day March)

The makeup of the crowd was generally young, majority white but plenty of people of color, and equally men and women. Lots of creative, nerdy signs. Very peaceful, the organizers went out of their way to promote this as a non-partisan event. (L.A. March for Science)

May Day Protests

The crowd was diverse in age, gender, and color, although understandably there seemed to be fewer immigrants participating than in previous years. The black bloc was present, and in masks, but for whatever reason didn't engage in trashing. (Oakland, CA)

Local police allowed the main thoroughfares to be blocked, and dozens of vehicles waiting to get through honked their horns in solidarity with the marchers. The march was kicked off and ended with a local dance group focusing on indigenous traditions. (Oxnard, CA)

...And more from other localities.

The Utopian, Vol. 16, No. 5

Cover and Contents for our May 2017 issue, vol. 16 no. 5. May Day, Tax Day, March for Science, other articles and discussion, including special feature on the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution.

For earlier issues see Updates and New Discussion (Vol. 16 no. 4, April 2017) and Archives.

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Utopian Statement of Principles: Who We Are

It's important to remember that Bannon thinks of himself as a Leninist, and he and Milo are personally connected through the most Leninist of organizing strategies, a newspaper. I think that sheds light on this strategy because of the issues it poses to college campuses. The Alt Right wins no matter what happens during Milo's tour. If colleges shut down his events, they can be accused of violating the country's "inviolable" political conventions. If colleges allow him to speak, and the left riots, then the left itself will likely be subjected to much stricter controls on its speech.

Optimism or Pessimism...? (Continued)

It is important to note in the ways that the developing alt-right is far ahead of the game compared to the developing stuff on the left. For example the alt right understands clearly that politics is war between friends and enemies. They understand that there are plenty of Black, Latino and Asian conservatives who hate immigrants, Muslims, 'criminals', etc. Or another way to put it is that a lot of immigrants hate a lot of other immigrants. Or that a lot of Black people hate a lot of other Black people, etc, etc. The alt-right has a better handle on identity than the progressive left and arguably the revolutionary left.

Black or White?

Of course, over the years, there have been more than a few phenotypically white people who felt themselves to be Black and became members of the Black community. Two of the more public examples that I am aware of are the jazz clarinetist and saxophonist, Mezz Mezzrow, and the Rhythm and Blues legend, Johnny Otis.

Ethics in Our Movement?

Do you think there is an opening--via the world-wide communications network--to begin a conversation about a new ethics, that includes (of course) ethics of economics, which could lead to the foundation we need upon which to build a new economics and therefore politics... etc. etc.

DSA Perspectives

The current DSA sounds a lot like the SDS of the 60s; almost complete local autonomy, very vague politics, even on long-time DSA positions, such as the Democratic Party. I think those who are interested might want to check out local meetings. It looks to me like it might be worth joining and looking at the potential to establish a distinct "revolutionary libertarian socialist" caucus, to be built around three positions: (1) for social revolution, not reforms; (2) against the Democratic Party; (3) for libertarian socialism, not state capitalism.

End the Deportations! (Statement by the Utopian Tendency)

Encourage and actively participate in the developing national day of action for May 1. Despite personal fear and uncertainty, a large, vocal, coordinated national day of immigrant rights activities would provide a powerful message and avenue for advancing the movement.

The recent failure of President Donald Trump and his Republican allies to “repeal and replace” Obamacare (or even to put their hastily-produced “replace” proposal to a vote) reveals the depth and extent of the political crisis that is engulfing the Trump administration, the Republican Party, and the US ruling elite as a whole. It also suggests that the crisis is likely to escalate.

The Utopian Cover and Contents

Cover and Contents for our April 2017 issue, vol. 16 no. 4. The deepening crisis of the Trump administration, Statement against Deportations, other articles and discussion.

For earlier issues see Updates and New Discussion (Vol. 16 no. 3, March 2017) and Archives.

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Utopian Principles Statement: Who We Are

But beyond these specifics, we are talking about something familiar to everyone, although difficult to get a handle on. In small ways, every day, people live by cooperation, not competition. Filling in for a co-worker, caring for an old woman upstairs, helping out at AA meetings, donating and working for disaster relief – people know how to live cooperatively on a small scale. What we don’t know, and no one has found a blueprint for, is how to live cooperatively on a national and international scale – even on the scale of a mass political movement. Nobody has described how the society we want will look, or how to get it, though we know what it will be – a society where people are free to be good.

Optimism...Pessimism?

At least in the circles I am a part of, everyone is very depressed and pessimistic, mostly expecting defeats. (Everyone is in their 30s, still active in some form) Protests are expected, but nothing on a scale or militancy to stop Trump's policies....

[In response] I think there are reasons for at least guarded optimism vis a vis the existing anti-Trump resistance. I think it has momentum and is likely to last, at least for a while. When people see what the Republicans have in store to amend or replace the ACA, I believe even more people will get angry, and at least some of them will get active.... Also, the ruling elite is not united behind Trump. Quite the contrary, many sectors are opposed to significant facets of his program, e.g., immigration, import taxes, tearing up trade deals, attack on transgender right, etc.

Commentary and Discussion

It's a mistake to judge Trump by the standards of conventional politics. Those who judged him that way in the election campaign were way off. He is pursuing the same strategy now -- or, perhaps, Bannon is pursuing it, since I think that Bannon is the strategist. They are trying to create facts on the ground, pushing hard to lock down as much as they can as fast as they can. Despite the resistance and turmoil they create, they will push on as long as they can. They may unravel, but I don't think that will happen in the immediate future.

End the Deportations! (Draft Statement by The Utopian Tendency)

We support the building of a mass movement to take the following actions:

Support families under attack!

End the raids!

Strengthen immigrant organizations!

Amnesty and Full Citizenship For All! For an Open Border!

Unite the movement! One for all and all for one!

Utopian Statement: Who We Are

Special Feature: 100th Anniversary of the Russian Revolution

Crucial to evaluating the Russian Revolution as a whole is an accurate understanding of the nature of the October Revolution, the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks under the slogan, “All Power to the Soviets.” At the moment it occurred, the insurrection appeared to represent the triumph of the popular forces. But rather than representing the victory of the people, the uprising heralded the beginning of the end, the onset of a long and bloody denouement that led to the tragic conclusion.

Articles and Dialogues: Trump-Putin, Immigration Ban Protests, Whither the Trump Administration?...More

[T]he speed of crisis has been stunning, with a seemingly major defeat in the first week (and little success with Mexico, walls and import taxes). More than a dozen Republicans have come out against the Muslim ban, though to varying degrees and elements. And, of course, the size and scope of the protests has clearly demonstrated that Jan. 20 was just an initial display of muscle, not a one-and-out.

Commentary: James Baldwin Speaks to the Nation on the Occasion of Donald Trump's Inauguration

James Baldwin (1924-1987), once seen as belonging to a past era, has grown in relevance as his uncanny ability to speak to America’s sins of exclusion and blindness have seemed more and more timely. So it felt appropriate to ask what he would say today. I asked him to choose five quotations from his works that he thought most applicable to the present occasion.

Commentary: Donald Trump's Mental State

Trump’s difficulty in accurately gauging reality has been clearly revealed in his and his team’s claim that some sort of plot on the part of the mass media exists to denigrate him personally, that the media is conspiring to deny that his inauguration was the biggest in history, that he’s immensely popular, that he has a mandate, etc. This seems not to be pure “spin” but a deeply felt (almost panicky) attempt to deny a reality that is deeply threatening to his self-image. It suggests that what some commentators described as a paranoid facet of Trump’s mentality is, in fact, much more serious.

Thoughts on the Developing Political Crisis in the U.S.

I believe that we are in the initial stages of a serious political crisis in the country, one that may not subside soon. Rather, I suspect it will continue to fester through a series of revelations and scandals. And depending on circumstances, it may well escalate into something on the level of the impeachment of Bill Clinton and perhaps even to the heights of Watergate.

Women's March on Washington - Reports and Comments

[W]hat I saw and took part in at the rally was a weaving together of civil rights and Black Lives Matter (five mothers whose children were killed by police where there and we did a call and response with each of them: "Travon Martin!" "Say his name!"). to meld my peer group-- middle-aged and older white women-- to the struggle against racism, xenophobia, and all those other human rights struggles made a profound impression on me....

I think there is a new spirit here that is beyond dogmas, political or religious, and we will find our way through to economic justice by drawing upon the wisdom, energy, and work of those of us in the movement whose interest is in economics.

The Utopian, Vol. 16, No. 2

Cover and Contents for our February 1, 2017 issue (Vol. 16 no. 2). Contents include: Reports and comments on Women's March (Jan. 21); commentary on developing U.S. political crisis; James Baldwin on Trump's inauguration; Trump-Putin, immigration protests, and more; Russian Revolution anniversary.

For earlier issues see Updates and New Analysis (Vol. 16. no. 1, Jan. 1, 2017) and Archivss.

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The Utopian, Vol. 16, No. 2

For earlier issues see Updates and New Analysis (Vol. 16. no. 1, Jan. 1, 2017) and Archivss.

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Utopian Statement: Who We Are

Articles and Books--Trump-Putin, Trump-White Workers, Millennial Jews against Trump, and more

“This Jew says no to white nationalism,” one sign read. “Silence is akin to consent,” another said, quoting the Talmud. A third displayed a lyric from a Yiddish song: “We will outlive them.” The signs, along with chants like “Donald Trump, it’s your fault; Stephen Bannon, oy gevalt!” were not only directed against Bannon, the president-elect’s choice for chief strategist. As hundreds of Jewish protesters marched up Manhattan’s East Side on Nov. 20, they also targeted the Zionist Organization of America, the pro-settlement group that had invited Bannon to its gala that night.

Commentary: Not My President!

In demonstrations across the United States, protestors have raised signs saying, “Not My President!” Obviously they are not denying that state machinery has given Donald J. Trump the position of head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, ruler of the mightiest and wealthiest state in the world. What they are denying is Trump’s legitimacy for the position, his moral right to claim the presidency.

Activist Reports--Anti-Trump Activities

Last week I went to the initial meeting of Labor Rising Against Trump Bay Area. There were a little over 30 people there.... All of us came out of mutual and equal interest, yet it is important to acknowledge and build such a cross-sectoral and cross-generational organizing space to rethink together how we are going to build/re-build a rank and file, radical, independent, anti-racist/sexist, and democratic labor movement that stands for mass action and solidarity.

Report from Standing Rock

The camp was an illustration of peaceful anarchy in action. There were few broad organizational efforts. Messages of the day were taped to the doors of the port-a-potties, announced at the sacred fire or passed on by word of mouth. None were compelled in any way to look for a “job” around camp but all of the niches were filled nonetheless. The Legal Collective “appeared” as did the medical tents and practitioners from MDs, massage therapists, psychologists and more. Water was delivered daily to 2 thousand gallon tanks and was free to all. Donated food was prepared in volunteer facilities hot, free meals prepared daily. Donated firewood was trucked in, bucked and split and stockpiled. A total experience and connection unlike I’d ever known and one that I can see scaled up to larger communities.

Strategy for the Anti-Trump Movement

We support the actions of all those fighting against President-elect Donald Trump and everything he and his administration stand for. We seek to expand the movement by reaching out to working people and oppressed members of our society, in workplaces, communities, schools, hospitals, churches, and other economic and social institutions. We seek to build a movement that is militant and uses tactics of direct action—picket lines, strikes, sit-ins, occupations, blockades, marches and mass demonstrations. We encourage coordination of struggles into one powerful movement.

The Utopian, Vol. 16, No. 1

Cover and Contents for our January 1, 2017 issue (Vol. 16 no. 1). Contents include: Strategy for the Anti-Trump Movement; Report from Standing Rock; Activist Reports; Commentary on the U.S. elections; Dialogues on strategy and tactics; and notices of important articles and books.

For earlier issues see Updates and New Analysis (Vol. 15. no. 3, Dec. 1, 2016) and Archives.

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The Utopian Vol. 15 No. 2

This issue of the discussion bulletin has been re-titled, The Utopian—A Bulletin of Anarchist & Libertarian Socialist Thought. This reflects the decision to combine the former journal, The Utopian, with the recently launched discussion bulletin. We hope the new approach will continue to provide an ongoing forum for interactive discussion among readers and supporters of The Utopian, while also offering a vehicle for more frequent publication of journal articles.

A Strategy for the Movement: A Statement by the Utopian Tendency

We support the actions of all those fighting against President-elect Donald Trump and everything he and his administration stand for. We seek to expand the movement by reaching out to working people and oppressed members of our society, in workplaces, communities, schools, hospitals, churches, and other economic and social institutions. We seek to build a movement that is militant and uses tactics of direct action--picket lines, strikes, sit-ins, occupations, blockades, marches and mass demonstrations. We encourage coordination of struggles into one mass movement.

Utopian Statement: Who We Are

Additional Dialogues--Is Socialism Inevitable? Is capitalism Doomed?

[T]he restoration of post-war prosperity took the Great Depression, defeat of workers' struggles, Nazism and Stalinism, and a second world war, not to mention the looting of the environment. I do not see anything like this happening in the near future (probably not even in the long-run future, but certainly not in the near future).--Wayne Price

It was comforting (in a somewhat perverse sense), when we were Marxists, to be able to believe that 'history' was on 'our side,' that capitalism almost certainly spelled 'final doom' for the world, that socialism was immanent within capitalism, and, therefore, a revolutionary perspective was...'logical' ('true,' 'on the side of history,' etc.) Comforting or not, I have come to agree that this is a false perspective, and--worse--one with totalitarian implications and outcomes.--Rod Mehling

Articles and Blogs--Fight for $15, Standing Rock, and More

A nationwide “Fight for $15” day of disruption scheduled for Tuesday [Nov. 29--eds.] now includes strikes by Uber drivers in two dozen cities, as well as by baggage handlers and cabin cleaners at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, hospital workers in Pittsburgh and McDonald’s and other fast-food cooks and cashiers nationwide.

Activist Reports--Standing Rock, Election Day

On Oct. 26, we organized a protest at Senator Chuck Schumer’s Manhattan office against the Spectra AIM pipeline and in alliance with the struggle of the Standing Rock Sioux.--Mary

On Election Day my wife, a neighbor and I volunteered as non-partisan poll monitors to ensure that people could exercise their right to vote. This wasn’t a no-brainer because in addition to all the new laws restricting that right, Trump’s calls for his own monitors took the vote suppression game to a whole new and threatening level.--Bill B.

Comments and Discussion: The Election and the Period Ahead

Individuals and communities of ethnic and religious minorities, immigrants, women, and LGBT people – and institutions - labor unions; community, civic, and political organizations; and churches have the right to defend themselves, by any means necessary. In light of the rapid rise of the 'white nationalist' extreme right (with tacit encouragement from the Trump administration) this issue has immediate relevance.

Perspectives on a Post-Election Movment

We support the current and future actions of all those fighting against President-elect Donald J. Trump and everything he and his administration stand for. We reject the calls of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and others to give Trump a chance. Trump’s business record and his campaign rhetoric make it clear who he is: a hustler, a liar, and a crook; a racist, misogynist, xenophobic, and anti-LGBT bigot, an arch-manipulator and a sociopath. (Even if he doesn’t believe every word he has said, the fact that he said them is proof of what he represents.) We wish to broaden and deepen the movement.

Cover and Contents Vol. 15 No. 3

Cover and Contents for our December 1 issue (Utopian vol. 15 no. 3). This issue features perspective and commentary on the recent U.S. presidential election, as well as activist reports, articles/blogs, and theoretical discussion. Previous issues in our new more-frequent publication format can be found in "Updates and New Discussion" (vol. 15 no. 2, Nov. 1) and "Archives" (vol. 15 no. 1, Oct. 15).

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The Utopian, Vol. 15, No. 1

We are pleased to provide this first issue of the Utopian Bulletin. The new publication is different from the previous Utopian journal in two respects: 1) the print version of the journal has been discontinued; 2) the new publication includes reports on local activities, dialogues among readers, book reviews, and more, along with articles and essays similar to those that appeared in the journal. Our new approach is designed to enable more frequent publication and to create greater interaction among our readers and supporters.

Who We Are!

To look for Utopia means providing a vision for the future—of a world worth living in, of a life beyond what people settle for as experience clouds their hopes. It means insisting that hope is real, counting on human potential and dreams.

A Conversation About Marxism

Ron Tabor, in his 2013 book, The Tyranny of Theory—A Contribution to the Anarchist Critique of Marxism (Black Cat Press), presents an incisive and provocative critique of Marxism. Ron’s central point is that Marxism is totalitarian in its outlook, and a prescription for the establishment and maintenance of totalitarian societies.

Review of The Tyranny of Theory

Full disclosure: Ron Tabor and I were comrades and collaborators in the International Socialists from 1969 to 1973, and then founding members of the Revolutionary Socialist League in 1973 (Ron was the RSL’s national secretary; I edited its newspaper).

There were fewer than a dozen people at the movie “Stonewall” (2015) when two friends and I saw it on an October Sunday. This implied judgment by potential audiences seems general. The movie earned a modest $113,000 in the week of its release,

Utopian Perspectives

I propose that those of us currently involved in the Utopian put some thought and effort into building and consolidating what appears to be a growing milieu around our publication.

In Memoriam: Many Thousands Gone

Why were they here? Why had they found us? Because they knew Clifton? Or for the occasion his death gave them to express their protestations, a time and place to come together, to stand touching and sweating and breathing and looking in a common direction? Was either explanation adequate in itself? Did it signify love or politicized hate? And could politics ever be an expression of love?

Naomi Weisstein

Naomi Weisstein—scientist, feminist, irreverent and undeferential intelligence, and, with her husband Jesse Lemisch, a longtime friend of The Utopian—died March 26, 2015, after an agonizing struggle with cancer and a decades-long struggle against disabling illness that never destroyed her spunk and humor.

Only Mass Social Movements Can Save Us Now

Naomi Klein’s new book has been widely reviewed and widely read, not only on the left, but by many people concerned with looming ecological catastrophe. It deserves its popularity.

Every four years, we are subjected to the sorry spectacle of what passes for politics in this country. A cohort of wealthy charlatans, stooges, thieves, and liars performs for us in an attempt to convince us to vote for them, to send them money, to organize for them, and to trust them with the leadership of the United States, the most powerful country in the world.

PARIS ATTACKS

Revolutionaries should condemn the attacks, not feel any solidarity with the attackers, and not defend them against the state—as we would with a wide variety of revolutionary activists whom we might oppose politically.

Cover and Contents Vol 14 2015

A Journal of Anarchism & Libertarian Socialism.

What Is an Anarchist Strategy in Ukraine?

The non-communist Ukrainian left, both socialist and anarchist, made serious mistakes and failed when they were in a position either to win self-determination at the head of the Ukrainian people or, given the difficult circumstances, to leave an inspirational example-in-defeat along the lines of the Paris Commune or the Spanish Revolution. Without going into details here, the result of this sad history is that, by default, the leadership of the Ukrainian popular struggle has fallen to the nationalist right. The left has crimes to atone for, while the organized anarchist movement has much to prove in terms of trustworthiness and effectiveness.

Wayne Price Response to Peter Rush

Marx expected that a mass working class movement for socialism would develop which would culminate in (successful) socialist, workers’, revolutions. This has not happened—yet. Maybe it will and maybe it won’t, but it certainly does not look “inevitable.” Given the failure—so far—of a socialist revolution or even a mass movement for one, what do we make of this?

Ronald Tabor, a noted anarchist writer and analyst, wrote The Tyranny of Theory, A Contribution to the Anarchist Critique of Marxism (2013), to analyze the substance of Marxism in hopes of preventing it from becoming popular again if there is another period of political radicalization in the United States (and abroad, for that matter).

Anarchism and the Philosophy of Pragmatism

Unlike Marxism, anarchism does not have an official, orthodox, philosophy. For Marxism, this is “dialectical materialism.” (By now there are so many different interpretations of dialectical materialism--as there are of Marxism--that it may be inappropriate to regard it as one philosophy.) Of course, anarchists, like everyone else, have opinions on the major issues of philosophy: What is reality? What is truth? How do we know anything? What is ethically good?

Heretical Thoughts or Why I Am an Anarchist

I therefore determined that I ought to present a more positive, and more thorough, explanation of my anarchist views. But that is easier said than done. This is because, at least at the moment, I do not feel very optimistic about either the prospects for an anarchist transformation of society or the current state of the anarchist movement.

Four Poems

Poems by Bob McGlynn and Paul Bernstein

Defend Ukraine! Fight Russian Imperialism!

Events not only demand an unequivocal anarchist political defense of Ukraine's territorial integrity but solidarity with military actions aimed at defeating Putin's adventure. Additionally, the need for anti-authoritarians to get their act together in regards to understanding and intervening in ”imperfect" anti-elite movements with strong nationalist, religious or liberal sentiments was dramatically highlighted by this winter's popular Maidan insurgency.

Heroic Ferguson and the Need for Utopia

In the possible new movement that has been growing in recent weeks the call for nonviolence has been paramount. But I think the violence by Ferguson residents, on and after August 9 and on November 24, was heroic, as well as inevitable.

Who We Are!

Cover and Contents Vol 13 2014

A Journal of Anarchism & Libertarian Socialism

There has always been a milieu of anarchists/left-libertarians living outside of the East who have had a special interest in Soviet-type countries. Among this milieu’s interests is in countering the way even many anarchists treat Communism as a secondary concern, if at all.

TOTALITARIANS COME IN MANY GUISES

The main problem I have with the idea of God is the question of evil, or what is known in philosophy as theodicy. By this, I mean not only the bad things that human beings do to each other but also the naturally-caused misfortunes that afflict people, the good and the bad alike.

True to Our Native Land - African Americans and the United States

The great majority of African Americans define themselves as Americans—notwithstanding a long and honorable minority position of Black separatism—and that this definition represents a voluntary choice made historically over (roughly) the last 225 years.

Lift Every Voice and Sing

Beneath Mount Saint Rosalie 1866

TRAYVON MARTIN A Personal Response

It is very difficult to write about the outcome of the Trayvon Martin case. What happened hurts more than anything in years. My most basic thought is simply: that poor boy.

Organize and Resist Anti-Gay Attacks and Violence!

Summer’s here and that means celebrating; from annual Pride festivals and street parties to the recent Supreme Court’s striking down of the Federal anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act.

DIGNITY CAMPAIGN RESPONSE TO IMMIGRATION BILL

The Dignity Campaign is a network of organizations and individuals who affirm the need for an immigration reform bill based on human and labor rights.

Toward an Anarchist Policy on Syria

At the moment, the Middle East (taken broadly, that is, the area from North Africa to Pakistan) is the part of the world experiencing the greatest political instability and undergoing the most rapid change.

Who We Are

Cover and Contents Vol 12 2013

A Journal of Anarchism & Libertarian Socialism

[Erratum: In printed copies of Utopian vol. 12, the image of Sitting Bull in the cover montage is incorrectly identified as Crazy Horse. We apologize for the error.]

Toward an Anarchist Policy on Syria

At the center of the turmoil is Syria, now in its third year of civil war with no sign of any resolution in sight. Given the centrality of Syria to global politics, it is essential that anarchists understand what is going on there and develop a critical attitude toward the events that are unfolding. [...]

It is impossible to understand what is going on in Syria today without some knowledge of the international and historical context in which the events are taking place.

It is very difficult to write about the outcome of the Trayvon Martin case. What happened hurts more than anything in years. My most basic thought is simply: that poor boy. And his parents—what they are going through would be unimaginable, except for the long line of Black parents and family before them who have suffered the same way: a son blown away by the police, by vigilantes, by a mob, youths lined up by dealers and executed on outdoor basketball courts, drive-by shootings, little children killed by stray bullets. All this is horrible beyond words and yet for one’s son’s killer to be indicted, tried, and then acquitted adds insult and dishonor—a weighing of the precise importance of a Black person’s life in the United States—to the pain of death. And so Trayvon Martin’s parents had to use the stoicism of so many thousands before them. It is all they have.

DIGNITY CAMPAIGN RESPONSE TO THE SENATE IMMIGRATION REFORM BILL S. 744

As organizations participating in the Dignity Campaign for Immigration Reform Based on Human and Labor Rights, we are very concerned about the harsh impact the Senate's immigration reform bill will have on immigrants. Rather than 'bring immigrants out of the shadows' this bill will hold millions in an underclass, vulnerable to exploitation and relegated to the ranks of the working poor, with no access to basic services. Millions will have no hope of receiving permanent legal status, let alone citizenship.

WHAT IS VIOLENCE?

Violence is not only the crime that we are shown on the TV news, it’s not only the hand holding the gun, the kicking and punching, or the bodies that are'brutalized... like the deaths and victims that we remember today.

Violence is here with us each day: it comes from above and we reproduce it and suffer it down here.

Joint Statement on Affiliation of M1 and The Utopian

We are excited to announce a formal relationship between the First of May Anarchist Alliance (M1) and The Utopian.

Marxist Philosophy-Part II

Integrally involved with the issues discussed in the last chapter is the question of Marxism’s attitude toward the nature of truth and the veracity of human knowledge. What is truth? What is knowledge? How much can we know? Is our knowledge certain or probable, precise or approximate? Does our knowledge give us an accurate picture of reality, does it somehow just enable us to manipulate it, or is it merely an illusion? Is reality independent of all observers or is it connected to the act of observation? Is reality even real? These are some of the questions philosophers, scientists, and other thinkers have asked and debated over the centuries.

The Anarchist Method

Historically, two methods have predominated, which I will call the utopian-moral approach and the Marxist-determinist approach (neither of these terms is meant to be pejorative). I will propose a third approach, which has been called the “method of anarchism” (or “of anarchy”).

The Nature of the Period

Joint Statement

We are excited to announce a formal relationship between the First of May Anarchist Alliance (M1) and The Utopian. Click to read full statement >>

From Occupation to Expropriation

The ongoing Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, encampment, and related actions around the country are a significant development. These events may well be the beginning of a 1960s style movement of great potential. Because of its focus on the economic crisis, the financial/corporate shenanigans that contributed to it, and, most important, jobs, the movement has the potential to strike a resonant chord in the hearts of millions of people who have been slammed by the events of the last few years and who are aching to do something about them.

Chicago Teachers Lead the Fight

Taking a major stand against school closings, privatization, large class-sizes, and high-stakes testing, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. In doing so, Chicago public school teachers are pitting their collective will against that of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his political allies in Chicago, Washington, DC, and throughout the country. While negotiations continue, the union’s House of Delegates authorized President Karen Lewis to give the Chicago Board of Education the required 10-day strike notice at her discretion.

Who We Are!

Cover and Contents Vol 11 2012

With this issue The Utopian makes a transition to predominantly online publication, making possible a simplified but no less attractive design and enabling the use of color. Your comments are invited.

Communique of Mario López / Comunicado de Mario López

My position remains the same: I forthrightly declare myself an Anarchist and the only one responsible for my acts. For now, I’ll limit myself to thanking my compañer@s for their solidarity and to “denouncing” just a few of the many misdeeds that have occurred during this deceitful process, which all began the moment I proclaimed myself an Anarchist, which I do not regret. ¡Never apologetic!

Mi posicionamiento sigue siendo el mismo: mi reivindicación absoluta como Anarquista y único responsable de mis actos. Por ahora, me limitaré a agradecer toda la solidaridad de lxs compañerxs afines y a “denunciar”, sólo algunos hechos de todo este viciado proceso que comenzó al momento de reivindicarme Anarquista, de lo cual no me arrepiento ¡Arrepentido jamás!

Defend Anarchist Prisoners in Mexico!

Como Grupo Abogados en Solidaridad con los Presos Anarquistas y representantes del ahora indiciado Mario Antonio López Hernández queremos hacer una denuncia pública respecto de las notorias irregularidades y las graveas violaciones en el proceso de nuestro defenso....

As the Lawyers Group in Solidarity with Anarchist Prisoners and legal representatives of the accused, Mario Antonio Lopez Hernandez, we wish to issue a public denunciation of the flagrant irregularities and grave violations of process that have been perpetrated against our defense efforts....

The Nature of the Period

Aside from the current economic crisis, the most significant development of the period we are now in is the qualitative decrease in the global influence of the United States and western Europe. We might call this “The Decline of the West.” This was the title of an influential book published in two volumes, in 1918 and 1922, respectively, by Oswald Spengler. As we can now see, the treatise was prescient but also, as it turned out, about a century premature.

MARXIST PHILOSOPHY-PART II

MARXISM, KNOWLEDGE, AND TRUTH

On Monday December 12, the Occupy movement shut down the major west coast ports of Oakland, Portland, Longview (Washington), and Seattle. There were partial shutdowns or support actions at the ports of San Diego, Vancouver, and Long Beach, as well as in Hawaii and Japan. Wal-Mart distribution centers were blockaded in Denver, Salt Lake City, and Albuquerque. Other actions occurred in New York, Houston, Tacoma, and Anchorage. The Seattle, Long Beach, San Diego, and Houston protests were met with police violence.

FROM OCCUPATION TO EXPROPRIATION!

Vietnam Vet with a cardboard sign

Sitting there by the left turn line

Flag on his wheelchair flapping in the breeze

One leg missing and both hands free

The Leadership Crisis of the US Ruling Class - Part II

In last year’s issue of the Utopian, I wrote about the leadership crisis plaguing the ruling class of the United States. My article discussed the fact that although the US was faced with dire economic and social problems, the ruling class - the tiny, extremely wealthy elite that controls the country’s economic, social, and political institutions - was incapable of making the political decisions necessary to address those issues.

Ohio Workers Fight Back! - Part II

While I was recuperating from surgery, it was exciting to see and hear about thousands of Ohio public and private workers demonstrating against Senate Bill 5, the anti-working class, anti-union bill passed by the Ohio Senate on March 1 by a 17-16 vote. Workers from the Autoworkers Union, teachers from a community college, single moms, and secretaries demonstrated as well.

British Riots: It Is Right to Rebel

Decent people everywhere should support and defend the working class and street youth – mainly but not only Afro-Caribbeans – who rioted and looted in London, Birmingham, Manchester and elsewhere in England for several days starting August 6.

Anarchism in the Oppressed Nations - Book Review

It is widely believed on the radical left that anarchism has been solely a movement of Europe and North America. Marxists and liberals state that anarchism has never had anything to offer the majority of humanity in the oppressed and impoverished nations (the so-called “Third World”) – unlike Marxism or pro-Western liberalism.

Who We Are - First of May Anarchist Alliance

We are active in our communities and workplaces as individuals, as members of M1, trades unions, as well as through formations such as the Industrial Workers of the World and Solidarity & Defense.

OUR ANARCHISM First of May Anarchist Alliance

Over the last year the Michigan-Minnesota Group has begun to reconstitute ourselves from a long-time affinity group into an anarchist organization of struggle, First of May Anarchist Alliance (M1).

Orígenes y evolución histórica del movimiento anarquista

No hay duda que esta periodización requiere ser trabajada en sus detalles y exige un gran esfuerzo de articulación: por un lado, con los procesos históricos que la incluyen y que la condicionan y, por el otro, con las características regionales que la especifican y le otorgan singularidades irreemplazables en cada caso particular.

Anarquismo en el Siglo XXI

Reflexionar sobre el pensamiento anarquista en pleno siglo XXI nos conduce inexorablemente al debate en torno al problema de la selección de los medios para la consecución de sus fines y la aplicación de métodos de organización concretos frente a las nuevas condiciones que imponen las estructuras de dominación contemporáneas.*

Marxist Philosophy

It should be clear by now that I think there is, in fact, a Marxist philosophy. Throughout this book, I have tried to show that Marxism is best understood as a philosophical worldview – specifically, a variant of Hegelian Idealism that sees itself and presents itself as materialist. Beyond this, I believe Marx and Engels did hold to a conscious ontological position, a view of the nature and structure of the natural world, one that has come to be called “Dialectical Materialism."

War in Libya

The no-fly zone, under which US and NATO fighter planes can attack Libyan civilian and military targets virtually at will, seems to have succeeded in halting Kadafi’s offensive and saving the rebels, at least for now. Yet, although the anti-Kadafi struggle has been rescued, this may come at considerable cost. This is because the aims of the United States and the other NATO countries may not coincide with those of the opposition forces, or at least of some factions among them.

Ohio Workers Fight Back

Thousands of public/state workers, many unions, and supporters like veterans and environmentalists have been peacefully and noisily fighting back in many Ohio cities against Ohio Governor Kasich’s support of Bill SB5. The bill passed the Ohio Senate. If passed by the Ohio House this coming week, it will all but eliminate collective bargaining by state workers over wages, pensions, healthcare, working conditions, and the right to strike.

[Click at right to read full story with update.]

The Middle East in Flames

Two weeks after Egypt’s revolution, the firestorm of people’s uprisings that is transforming the Middle East continues, and yet the ruling elites are reasserting themselves, threatening to destroy everything the people have suffered and sacrificed for. Part of the mortal danger to the still-bright rebellions comes from these elites, part from the United States, and part from the class nature of the rebellions themselves. That is a bitter pill to swallow, but it is the truth.

Wisconsin Protests Lead Public Workers Fight!

Highly organized anti-union attacks are being advanced by capitalists in alliance with conservative politicians across the country that aim to destroy unions, cut social programs, and give huge tax breaks to corporate interests. The direct attack on public unions in Wisconsin is clear. After union representatives there agreed to all financial givebacks, Governor Walker refused to concede because his essential goal is to break the public unions in order to decrease the power of workers’ opposition to this conservative agenda now and in the future. With all kinds of lies about how public employees get more pay than private sector workers, he unleashed a massive attack against public employees.

On Wisconsin! For Mass Actions, Occupations & a General Strike!

This movement - directly inspired, it must be said, by the heroic people of Egypt and the Middle East - with its contagious energy, determination, humor, and optimism has taken everyone by surprise. The politicians, bosses, unions, and media were all unprepared for the wave that has crashed ashore. But this upsurge is at a crossroads and must push forward defiantly or risk being co-opted or crushed leaving us with yet another heroic defeat or false “victory” to lament for years to come.

Call to Arms: What Working People Need to Do in the U.S.

I think the big job is still to break the hold of the Democratic Party on the working class and the unions. AFSCME’s entire strategy has been to elect Democrats instead of organizing workers to fight. We are in a class war and are getting our asses kicked. Elections won’t turn this around. Direct action by the workers will.

Egypt: Seize the Moment, Keep Up the Struggle

Fortunately for the people of Egypt (and for the rest of us), the brass have not yet succeeded in putting the genie back into the lamp. Like soda in a bottle of soda that's been shaken and then had the cap removed, workers throughout Egypt have erupted in a wave of strikes and demonstrations to address their long-standing grievances, particularly low wages and shabby working conditions.... Now, more than ever, the workers, the unemployed, the rural poor, and all those oppressed by Egypt's rotten social structure need to step up the struggle. In addition to striking and demonstrating for their immediate needs, they need to organize for another mass demonstration to be held as soon as possible.

Showdown in Egypt

(Written Feb. 11; updated Feb. 12.)

The Egyptian Revolution is intensifying, and the stakes are getting raised ever higher. Rather than the demonstration in Cairo’s Tahrir Square dissipating as the Mubarak regime had hoped (and I had feared), over the last few days the number of protesters has mushroomed. In addition, some of the demonstrators, tired of being cooped up in the square by the army, have spread the protests to other parts of the city. Among them, several hundred militants have sat down in front of the building in which Mubarak’s puppet parliament holds its sessions, while, as I write, several thousand demonstrators are marching on the state-owned TV station and a similarly-sized crowd is marching on the presidential palace.

Day 14 of the Egyptian Revolution

As the Egyptian Revolution has entered its fourteenth day, the political situation in Egypt appears to have reached a stalemate. The anti-Mubarak demonstrators, with great courage and tenacity, defended themselves and Tahrir Square from assaults by pro-Mubarak thugs, many of them employees of the state intelligence apparatus. They have also vowed to stay in the square until Mubarak leaves.... For its part, the regime has dug in its heels.

Egypt at the Turning Point

Although it is extremely unfortunate that people have been killed and hurt, these events may well be a positive turning point for the Egyptian Revolution. Up until today, the protesters appeared to be almost complacent about what would be needed to overthrow Mubarak and bring about an improvement in their lives.... Now, at least, the anti-Mubarak demonstrators realize where the army really stands. As anarchists have long argued, the army is one of the chief pillars of the state, which, in turn, is the main instrument through which a tiny elite (that lolls in luxury while the majority of people struggle in poverty) defends its rule.

Bright Sky over North Africa

The sky is bright over northern Africa, not only because of the burning government buildings and police stations, but because of the new dawn of mass struggle and potential liberation. Since Jan. 14, less than three weeks ago, the Ben Ali dictatorship in Tunisia has fallen and its successor regime has been shaken up several times, the Mubarak dictatorship in Egypt has suffered a mighty blow from ever-growing protests seeking the president’s downfall.

Anarchist Solidarity Against the Political Police!

We stand firmly opposed to the raids carried out by the FBI, America’s political police, against a number of antiwar and labor activists across the country on Friday, September 24th, 2010. We give our solidarity to those threatened by these raids and to those subpoenaed to appear before a government Grand Jury next month. These attacks must be resisted.

On the Need for Organization - Response to Ron

When I began to read Ron’s essay, On Organization, I thought that I agreed with most of it, but that it had an odd focus. When I finished it, I realized that I did not agree with it at all, because Ron did not advocate a special organization of revolutionary anarchists.

Cuba: El eterno drama de la Libertad y el Socialismo

Diálogo es el vocablo de orden o, al menos, la palabra cotidiana más recurrente. En este mismo instante, la inmensa mayoría de los cubanos hablan al unísono─ de la necesidad de diálogo. Y bueno, eso de que hablemos todos a la vez de un mismo tema, no tiene nada de particular ni debe causar asombro, por lo menos a aquellos que conozcan a fondo eso que denominan “idiosincrasia cubana”. Lo que ocasiona extrañeza es el empleo indiscriminado del término, aunque tiene cierta lógica si tenemos en cuenta los últimos titulares que se han venido empleando para reseñar la más reciente puesta en escena de la tragicomedia ─¿o zarzuela?─ del partido-Estado cubano.

ON ORGANIZATION

Many people who have limited knowledge of anarchism believe that anarchists are, by definition, against all organization; this is what they think anarchism means. In fact, historically anarchists have held a range of opinions on the question. Probably most well-known has been the position of anarcho-syndicalists, who are in favor of organizing the mass of workers in trade unions or trade union-like organizations, while differing among themselves over whether conscious anarchists should form a distinct organization of their own, either in or separate from the unions.

From Trotskyism to Anarchism

A significant number of revolutionaries went from Trotskyism to some type of libertarian socialism. Why had they been attracted to Trotskyism in the first place?

Indigenous migrants from the Southern Mexico states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, Puebla, and Michoacan are a growing presence throughout the United States today.

Comunicado de SL - Communiqué of Socialista Libertario

La reciente muerte de Orlando Zapata tras 85 días de huelga de hambre para exigir que se acabasen las palizas que sufría, los continuos traslados de prisión en prisión.

The recent death of Orlando Zapata after 85 days of hunger strike - demanding an end to the beatings he endured, the continuous moves from prison to prison.

Orlando Zapata Tamayo (1967-2010)

Cuando los amanuenses profesionales vierten sus escritos de veneno y basura sobre la muerte de Orlando Zapata Tamayo (Enrique Ubieta Gómez “Cuba : ¿Para quién la muerte es útil?”.

When professional writers fill their pages with poison and garbage regarding the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo (Enrique Ubieta Gomez’s “Cuba: Para Quién la Muerte es Util”.

El Error de junio - The June Error

En el transcurso del presente mes (junio, 2010) han proliferado de manera significativa los artículos de “colaboración-crítica” desde el “dentro-contradictorio” y los llamados a la “cohesión revolucionaria” y al “diálogo sin sectarismos”.

In the past month (June 2010), we have seen a proliferation of articles about “critical collaboration” from the “contradictory insider,” along with calls for “revolutionary cohesion” and “dialogue without sectarianism”.

REFUTING THE ROOSTER

When someone uses public air waves emanating from a community radio station, that person wields the power to address the general public.

THE LEADERSHIP CRISIS OF THE US RULING CLASS

Beginning in December 2007, the United States entered into one of the deepest economic crises - now dubbed the Great Recession - in its history. Hidden behind this crisis, however, has been another one few people recognize.

The Death of Orlando Zapata - La muerte de Orlando Zapata

The recent death of Orlando Zapata after 85 days of hunger strike - demanding an end to the beatings he endured, the continuous moves from prison to prison...demands taking a clear position, without ifs, ands, or buts, against the regime of the Cuban generalísimos.

La reciente muerte de Orlando Zapata tras 85 días de huelga de hambre para exigir que se acabasen las palizas que sufría, los continuos traslados de prisión en prisión...exige una toma de posición neta y clara, sin peros ni excusas contra el régimen de los generalísimos.

Orlando Zapata Tamayo

Cuando los amanuenses profesionales vierten sus escritos de veneno y basura sobre la muerte de Orlando Zapata Tamayo (Enrique Ubieta Gómez “Cuba : ¿Para quién la muerte es útil?” en rebelión y kaosenlared, Ángeles Diez “El caso Zapata, nueva agresión mediática contra Cuba” en Rebelion) con el mejor estilo calumniador del socialismo real, es útil recordar cositas.

Dialogue on Expropriations - Dialogo sobre las expropriaciones

Although I am in favor of publishing your article about the arrests of comrades Bonanno and Stratigopolous and extending solidarity to the comrades, I have to tell you that I am very much opposed to the tactic of “expropriation.” In my opinion, it’s a stupid tactic. It does not advance either the anarchist movement or the anarchist cause.

Aunque estoy en favor de publicar tu artículo sobre la detención de los compañeros Bonanno y Stratigopolous y de extender la solidaridad hacia los companeros, tengo que decirte que estoy muy en contra de la táctica “expropriatoria”. Para mi, es una táctica estupida. No avanza ni el movimiento anarquista ni la causa del anarquismo.

Vivir la Anarquía | Living Anarchy

During the night of Thursday, October 1, barely a few minutes before midnight, on a fateful day for Mexico - a day symbolic of repression and brutality- a dear comrade told me that in the early morning hours, Alfredo Maria Bonanno had been arrested again, this time in the city of Trikala, in northern Greece.

En la noche del jueves 1ro de octubre, apenas faltando unos minutos para que iniciara el día 2 ―fecha fatídica, símbolo indiscutible de represión y barbarie, en México― un entrañable compañero me comunicó que, en horas de la mañana, había sido detenido nuevamente Alfredo Maria Bonanno. Esta vez en la ciudad de Trikala, al norte de Grecia.

Hasta siempre compañero | Obit for Daniel

El lunes 24 de agosto, al agonizar la tarde, se fue el querido compañero Rafael Spósito Balzarini -Daniel Barret, para los que le acompañamos en la cotidianidad de la lucha contra el Estado-capital desde tiendas libertarias- víctima de un cáncer que a penas le otorgó el tiempo necesario para despedirse de compañeros, amigos y familiares y, de concluir alguno de los múltiples textos que acostumbrada elaborar de manera simultánea.

Hijo de El Cerro, tierra dispendiosa en ácratas y rebeldes, en Montevideo, Uruguay, desde su más tierna adolescencia, Rafa contribuyó con sus aportaciones y esfuerzos a la difusión de las ideas anarquistas, defendiendo siempre los ideales de libertad por los que luchó toda su vida y por los que sufrió persecución y exilio, mismos que jamás significaron sacrificio alguno para su integridad libertaria.

Some Thoughts on the Nature of the Period

I. The US Economy

The economic recession in the United States, part of a global contraction and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, appears to have bottomed out, and a recovery now seems to be underway.

As most people know, the United States and the world recently experienced the worst economic crisis since the 1930s. Although the downturn in the US has been classified as a recession (officially defined as two or more consecutive quarters of a decline in a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the total amount of goods and services produced within its borders), this downturn has been qualitatively more severe than others of the post-World War II period. It has already seen:

*The layoffs of millions of workers, with official unemployment rates rising to close to 10%. Unofficial rates, that is, those that include workers who have given up looking for work and those working part-time but who would like full-time jobs, are much higher, around 17%. (In the Depression of the 1930s, official unemployment was 25%, while unofficial rates were probably close to 40%.)

Response to Leninism Without Lenin

In reading Gustavo’s article, “Leninism Without Lenin,” I find it hard to get a handle on where he is going.... While he appears to dismiss anarcho-syndicalism as an alternative to Platformism/Specificism, he nevertheless never makes it clear to me exactly what is his position.

Some Thoughts on Anarchism and Religion

We all have our own mythologies. We all live in our own (overlapping) worlds of symbolic representations of reality and have our unique ways of making sense of our lives and of the world we live in. We should respect and value the differences in these symbolic worlds, not try to stamp them out in favor of some kind of (in fact, unachievable) gray atheistic unity.

The Two Main Trends in Anarchism

To get to the real differences between the two trends of anarchism, it is necessary to look at the serious political differences between them—not at an nonideological “culture,” but at actual politics.

Small Farm Movement Takes Root in the Motor City

The morning’s farm activities include: milking the goats, carrying hay out to the horse, feeding the chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, etc. and collecting eggs, and tending the rabbits. All the familiar farm chores…only these are all being done in the heart of the City of Detroit, almost within sight of the smokestacks of the giant Ford complex.

The Hurt of No Longer Being / El Dolor de Ya No Ser

When speaking of a political regime so dependent on its tribal totem, we should not find it surprising that a fundamental chapter in its trajectory is about Fidel Castro...

Tratándose cómo se trata de un régimen político altamente dependiente de su tótem tribal, no tiene nada de extraño que un capítulo fundamental de su deriva gire en torno a la persona de Fidel Castro...

Obama and Double Consciousness

When I try to sort out my sense of events since the election of President Obama—my senses both that this election was a major watershed in U.S. politics and society, and that Obama’s presidency will realize few if any of the hopes people had in voting for him—I find myself drawn to a fundamental idea in African American writing about the United States, W.E.B. Du Bois’s concept of double consciousness.

In Memoriam Lisa Gayle July 4,1950-January 30, 2009

Lisa Gayle, a friend and well-wisher of the Utopian, passed away in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Friday, January 30, at age 58. We all knew and grew to deeply appreciate Lisa over our years together in the Revolutionary Socialist League (1973-1989). Lisa was buried in Ann Arbor on Monday, February 2. Mourning her loss were her husband, Mike, their son, Jacob, Lisa’s mother, and other family members. Joining them in remembrance of a life rich in humor, an intense commitment to social justice, and a deep spiritual sense of liberation were numerous individuals who had come to know and to love her over the years as a student, autoworker, nurse, teacher, mother, and revolutionary.

One anarchist comrade, upon learning of her death, related that when he was a young man in the mid-1990s in Detroit, Lisa had told him that her contribution as a militant in the automobile might have been small, but that the impact of this experience and of her coworkers on her was enormous. He spoke of Lisa’s warmth and honesty. Honest she was, but it was a sweet and straightforward type of honesty, honest without being harsh.

The Tragedy and Triumph of Lester Young

To anyone more than a little familiar with the life of Lester Young, the great African American jazz tenor saxophonist, the title of my essay must seem ironic. For Young's life is more often described, when it is described at all, as a triumph followed by tragedy.

Leninism Without Lenin | Aproximaciones al Leninismo sin Lenin

Before beginning, I would like to make it clear that I am writing these modest lines with the intention of encouraging reflection, more in the search for the Truth than with the idea that I am somehow the repository of it.

Ante todo, quiero hacer constar, que escribo estas modestas lineas con el animo de exhortar a la reflexion, mas desde la busqueda y el desasosiego que desde el pulpito de la Verdad, de la que no me siento depositario.

Something Smells Different in Cuba | Algo huele diferente en Cuba

With respect to the situation in Cuba these past few weeks, the Cuban Libertarian Movement (MLC--affinity group of Cuban anarchists in exile) speaks up to answer the unknowns and the challenges facing Cuban society. Ours is the voice of uncompromising commitment to freedom, equality and solidarity that the Cuban anarchists have always upheld.

Ante la coyuntura vivida en la isla en los ultimos tiempos, el Movimiento Libertario Cubano--MLC (grupo de afinidad del anarquismo cubano en el exterior) se hace oÃr para dar respuesta a interrogantes y retos que hoy se plantea la sociedad cubana, con una voz que es la del indomito compromiso con la libertad, la igualdad y la solidaridad que historicamente han sostenido los y las anarquistas

Some Thoughts on Obama

These thoughts will focus on what I think is unique about Barack Obama's campaign for the presidency, as well as on why I don't plan to change my long-standing practice of not voting in order to vote for him.

The Economy and Anarchy

The economic events of the last few months have raised a lot of questions about where the US and world economies are headed and what this means for the political climate in the United States.

My Life as a Dog, I Mean a Teacher: Parts 2 and 3

The following is what I call an essay/memoir. It is simultaneously an account, largely anecdotal, of my experiences as an elementary school teacher working for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and an analysis of the state of the public educational system in Los Angeles and in the United States as a whole.

Liberation or Gangsterism

Indigenous and Asian youth to use their time, energy, creativity and imagination to discover their true self-worth and earn the respect of the entire world while struggling toward even broader goals that were not measured by one\\\'s material possessions. And over time each segment cheered on, supported, worked in solidarity with and/or discovered its own common interests and closely linked missons connected to broader people\\\'s goals.

Capitalist Globalization and the National State

Reading your symposium on Western Values and Total War, I am astounded that ...there is no discussion of national sovereignty as the bottleneck preventing a solution to the dilemma, and in fact creating and aggravating the dilemma.....

Obamanations

Among the lists which inundate my e-mail inbox is one on which someone last winter posted an appeal for funds to help the campaign of Barack Obama. Although this list has several thousand members, like many others, only a score or so people regularly post messages.

The Leadership Crisis of the U.S. Ruling Class

Among the things the contemporary political scene in the United States reveals is that the country??™s ruling class is suffering from an acute crisis of leadership. I am not speaking here in terms of the effectiveness of the nation??™s political leaders in addressing the interests of the country as a whole, however one may conceive them.

Francis Grimke and African American Prophecy

If John Brown were permitted to speak to us today from heaven, where he has been now for fifty years, he would say to us, I believe, Never despair! Never give up! The forces that are for you are greater than those that are against you.

Embracing God and Rejecting Masters: On Christianity Anarchism and the State

Throughout the three years that I have been involved with the annual Anarchism and Christianity conference and the four or so years I have considered myself to be a Christian with anarchist tendencies, I have been challenged on whether or not it is possible for me to exist.

Anarchism: Utopian or Scientific

Together with the revival of anarchism in the last decades, there has been an increased interest in Utopia. This is largely due to the crisis in Marxism, long the dominant set of ideas among the radical left.

James Petras' Photographs of Cuba Before and After Developing: An Anarchist Commentary on his Declarations about Cuba

The Cuban Libertarian Movement (MLC??”Movimiento Libertario Cubano) makes some pertinent observations about certain declarations by somebody who was until recently an unconditional defender of the Cuban revolution.

Open Letter to New York School Officials

When Michael Bloomberg took control of the New York City school system over three years ago, he sponsored a complete reorganization of the structure of school government.

The U.S. Deserves to Loose in Iraq

The following essay was written in four parts for the international anarchist web site, www.Anarkismo.net. It grapples with the attitudes which revolutionary anarchists should propose for the movement against the war in Iraq.

Another Attack on the English Language

On Nov. 26, 2003, during an interrogation session, Chief Warrant Officer Lewis E.Welshofer Jr., a chief investigator with the U.S. Army Third Cavalry Regiment in Qaim, Iraq, shoved his prisoner, Iraqi Major Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush, head first into a sleeping bag, sat on the general\\\'s chest, and covered his mouth with his hands.

War in Lebanon

As I write, at the end of July, a full-scale Israeli air war against Lebanon has been going on for nearly three weeks. Israeli tanks and infantry are making cross-border raids and are massed at the border ready for a large-scale invasion.

The Muhammad Cartoons

As most people know, in January and February Muslims demonstrated in many countries over the publication of satirical cartoons of the prophet Muhammad in European newspapers. The cartoons showed the prophet in a variety of ways meant to satirize him and Muslim belief, for example, with bombs in his head covering.

Are The Wheels Coming Off The Republican Bangwagon

It sure looks that way. In recent months, the Republican administration of George W. Bush and the Republican Party in general have taken a series of heavy blows.

The Dialectics of Ambiguity: The Marxist Theory of History

After some years of study and consideration, I eventually concluded that [my previous] position was untenable. Rather than seeing the establishment of totalitarian, state capitalist (Communist) systems as the negation of Marxism, I came to believe that these societies in fact represented its fulfillment, although this had not been explicitly perceived, let alone advocated, by Marxist ideologists. As a result of reaching this conclusion, while still maintaining my opposition to capitalism and advocating the establishment of a liberated society, I became attracted to anarchism. I was particularly drawn to its hostility to the state and its opposition (in contrast to Marxism) to utilizing a state apparatus to achieve its goal. I was also intrigued by its understanding of hierarchy, which subsumes questions of class, national, racial and sexual oppression under a broader category without insisting on the primacy/determining nature of any one of them. Lastly, I was impressed by what I believe to be implied by anarchism (if not always consistently adhered to by anarchists themselves): a philosophical skepticism that repudiates the belief in the Truth of any one political/philosophical orthodoxy, in other words, its commitment to a form of ideological pluralism.

Libertarian Marxism's Relation to Anarchism

The current world-wide revival of anarchism is premised on the decline of Marxism. Yet there remains a strand of Marxism (libertarian or autonomist Marxism) to which anarchists often feel close and whose followers often express a closeness to anarchism. Its libertarian-democratic, humanist, and anti-statist qualities permit anarchists to use valuable aspects of Marxism (such as the economic analysis or the theory of class struggle). Yet it still contains the main weaknesses of Marxism. And in certain ways it has the same weaknesses of much of anarchism, rather than being an alternative. This version of Marxism has much to offer anarchists but remains fundamentally flawed, as I will argue.

War and Civil Rights: The Negro Quarterly, 1942-43

A little over sixty years ago, African Americans faced the question of how to respond to World War II.Most felt there were strong reasons for supporting the war; the question was whether one should concentrate singlemindedly on victory, putting aside all other concerns “for the duration,” or should continue to fight for civil rights during the war. After some inevitable initial confusion broad sections of the African American public came round to the second view, despite inconsistent leadership on the national level and opposition by some major leadership groups. This response was a step toward establishing a politically independent African American movement and toward the emergence of the civil rights movement in the 1950s.

Trip to Oaxaca

My heart races as we finally approach San Martín Peras, home of the “Cloud People.” This is a place few “Americans” can even visualize, much less visit. It took two airplanes and most of the day to reach Oaxaca City (a place I once found exotic), and where I was first thrilled by visiting the surrounding indigenous artisan villages.

Trotsky, Jesus, and Buddha Remembering the '60s

It was early October, 1966. I had just returned to the “Windy City” to begin my second year at the University of Chicago. The previous spring, I had helped organize and had taken part in an anti-war/anti-draft sit-in in the school’s administration building that had tied up the campus for five days and had made the New York Times and national TV. I was looking forward to getting something like that going again. This made up for what I expected would be another unspeakable Chicago winter, as well as the stifling spiritual atmosphere (smug hypocrisy) of the U of C as an institution.

Declaración de Principios | Declaration of Principles

Como ha sido siempre un deber ineludible, consecuentes con nuestros principios y acuerdos, l@s anarquistas y anarcosindicalistas cuban@s, fuimos y somos, luchador@s sin tregua por la libertad, la justicia social y el socialismo libertario.

Since it has always been an inescapable duty, consistently with our principles and agreements, the Cuban anarchists and anarcho-syndicalists have been, and are in a struggle without respite for liberty, social justice and libertarian socialism.

Solidaridad con el pueblo de Cuba, no con Castro | Solidarity with the People of Cuba, Not with Castro

La Federación Sindical Mundial (FSM) y la dictadura fascista de Castro, tienen el cinismo de llamar a constituir un Frente Internacional Antifascista. Cómo se atreve a hablar de antifascismo la última dictadura fascista de América Latina. Cómo se atreve la FSM a hablar de sindicalismo antifascista desde La Habana, bastión del último sindicato vertical a la usanza del dictador Francisco Franco.

The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFT) and Castro\\\'s fascist dictatorship in Cuba reveal their cynicism with their recent call to establish an International Anti- Fascist Front. How does the last fascist dictatorship in Latin America dare to speak of anti-fascism!

Comunicado: Los Sucesos del Salta | Communique: The Events of Salta

La represión de que han sido victimas el pueblo originario de Salta, por parte de la soldadesca brutal y criminal del Estado argentino, con ordenes terminantes de golpear, reprimir, abusar, desterrar y encarcelar a cientos de indígenas, incluyendo ancianos, mujeres y niños es un acto reprobable y deplorable por parte de las autoridades de la seudo Res-pública Argentina. Condenamos enérgicamente este acto de barbarie, que asombrosamente contemplamos y sufrimos todos los hombres y mujeres libres de la tierra y que transalda la ciudad de Salta a los tiempos de la invasión y colonización hispánica de este continente. Los abusos cometidos en este \\\"pogrom\\\" de típico estilo nazi, contra una minoría racial indefensa, no solo es un crimen contra la Argentina sino también contra la Humanidad.

The repression against the aboriginal people of Salta, carried out by the brutal and criminal military of Argentina, with orders to beat, abuse, banish and jail hundreds of indigenous individuals, including old people, women and children, is a reprehensible and deplorable act on the part of the pseudorepublic of Argentina.We vehemently condemn this act of barbarism, which astounds all free men and women of the land and is a throwback to the time of the Spanish invasion and colonization of this continent. The abuses committed against a defenseless racial minority in this Nazi-style pogrom is not only a crime against Argentina but also a crime against Humanity.

Alcarajo, Manifiesto contra el Acuerdo de Libre Comercio de las Américas | Against the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas

El Fondo Monetario Internacional y el Banco Mundial asfixian a la Humanidad con demandas implacables, legitimadas por gobiernos corruptos y lacayos, que siguiendo sus designios, oprimen y explotan a nuestr@s herman@s de clase a lo largo y ancho de América.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are choking humanity with their relentless demands, legitimized by corrupt puppet governments, who, following their designs, oppress and exploit our class brothers and sisters throughout America.

Socialism from Above or Below

The quotation at the right is from the beginning of “The Two Souls of Socialism,” by Hal Draper (1992), published as a pamphlet in 1966. Draper’s editor notes, “Its political impact on a generation of socialists in the United States and Great Britain has been considerable.” (Haberkern, 1992, p. xvii) It influenced that wing of Trotskyism which rejected Trotsky’s belief that the Soviet Union under Stalin (and after) was some sort of “workers’ state.” Instead, these semi-Trotskyists held (correctly) that the U.S.S.R. had developed a bureaucratic ruling class which collectively exploited the workers.

My Life as a Dog, I Mean a Teacher

It was the end of the school year for D Track and I was about to go off-track (meaning “go on vacation,” for those working in year-round, multi-track schools).My students’ last day was a Friday in mid-May.Monday was a “pupil-free” day (a day teachers are required to report for work even though their kids are not present). D Track teachers were supposed to work in our rooms, but since another class had moved into mine, I wasn’t able to.

Bruce Augustyniak (Bruce Kala)

Bruce Augustyniak, also known as Bruce Kala, died in Chicago on September 6, 2002. Bruce was a longtime socialist and anarchist who was trained as a scientist and gave up what presumably would have been a lucrative career to be a revolutionary.

Why We Joined NEFAC

We are two members of the collective which publishes The Utopian.

Reaching Out to a Challenging Community Update

How do you organize a grassroots community meeting? Easy, right? Make a few phone calls, send out some notices, pass out some flyers.

Spore-Public Policy is Class Policy

It is a common vision in the U.S. that the government is a neutral entity, standing outside and above the myriad contending forces in society.

Enemies of The Roman Order

One day decades ago, during the Vietnam War, I saw a reference to a book called Enemies of the Roman Order: Treason, Unrest, and Alienation in the Empire.

Reaching Out to a Challenging Community

Imagine that you are fifteen years old and pregnant. You find yourself in a country where you share no common language. You have never seen a health care provider in your life. You know that you want your baby born healthy, and born a citizen of this new country.

An Anarchist Critique of Marxism

Note to readers: This article is the continuation of a piece that appeared in the previous issue of this publication. There I sketched the role of the theory of capital in the Marxian worldview, Marxâ?™s method of investigating capitalism and the initial components of his theory.

Ralph Ellison's Juneteenth and African American Identity

One weakness of much radical thought is its use of abstract, formalized categories and a reductionist method. Radical theories often begin with some area of social existence-the nation and national identity, the system of production and class, race/ethnicity, gender, and others-that they use as a basic category to explain social life.

Anarchism and African American Liberation

If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”Words of an Aboriginal Australian Woman.

Something is Rotten in Philadelphia

Mumia Abu-Jamal and a large number of his supporters began early this year calling for his outright release from jail.

Reaching Out to a Challenging Community

Theses on The New Intifada

These were written in October, 2000, shortly after the beginning of the new Palestinian uprising, or Intifada, and were posted on The Utopian web site. Along with the theses, we are reprinting a comment by Wayne Price and my response, which were also posted on the site. Since the theses were written, a good deal has changed. Hundreds more have died. The Barak government in Israel was voted out and a coalition headed by Ariel Sharon took officeâ€”strengthening what I see as Sharon\\\\\\\'s strategy of blocking agreement on the establishment of a truncated Palestinian state.

On the World Trade Center Attack

I took advantage of a day offâ€”and the occasion of Yom Kippur seemed rightâ€”to go to the World Trade Center site. With a friend I approached southward along Church Street and then west to the Hudson River. From these vantage points one is half a mile away and sees the site only through gaps in the buildings; so we circled around and approached on the east side, along Broadway, where one can walk within a few blocks of the ruins. The scene is very grim.

Anarchism as Extreme Democracy

As Marxism, and state-socialism in general, have increasingly been discredited, there has been a tendency for leftists to turn to another tradition, that of the democratic revolution

¿Quienes somos? | Who Are We?

The aim of the Cuban Libertarian Movement (CLM) is to encourage revolutionary antiauthoritarian activism in Cuba, in particular, and on the American continent, in general, with the goal of creating a more effective anarchist movement that can actively participate both in the current struggle of the workers for control over their lives and in the international counter cultural resistance. El Movimiento Libertario Cubano, intenta articular e incrementar el activismo revolucionario antiautoritario en Cuba, de manera particular y en el continente americano en general, con el objetivo de construir un movimiento anarquista mÃ¡s efectivo que participe activamente en las luchas del movimiento real de l@s oprimid@s por el control de sus vidas y en la resistencia contracultural internacional.

San Jose De Las Matas Flag

Aqui les presentamos el primer diseño de la bandera de San Jose de las Matas. Luego de haber investigado y evaluado varios diseños de diferentes banderas del Mundo. El, diseño esta en consideracion los pricipales elementos que nos Representan como materos.