Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 15:48:04 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jamal Hannah <jah-AT-iww.org>
Subject: AUT: Its time for the left to reclaim the term anarchy. (fwd)


------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent:      	Thu, 02 Aug 2001 12:18:48 -0700
To:             	(Recipient list suppressed)
From:           	radtimes <resist-AT-best.com>
Subject:        	Its time for the left to reclaim the term anarchy. 

Fighting Word

It's time for the left to reclaim the term 'anarchy.'

<http://www.motherjones.com/web_exclusives/commentary/opinion/newshole15.html>

by Brooke Shelby Biggs
July 27, 2001

"Anarchism does not mean bloodshed; it does not mean robbery, arson, etc. 
These monstrosities are, on the contrary, the characteristic features of 
capitalism. Anarchism means peace and tranquility to all."
-- August Spies, Haymarket protester  <http://www.chicagohistory.org/dramas/>

If you've watched the news much in the past two years, the term 
"anarchist" probably evokes balaclava-clad ruffians with no political 
agenda beyond breaking windows, burning police cars, and looting stores. 
Mention the word and the world tunes out; violent thugs can't possibly 
have a message worth listening to. The term has been used to paint all 
activists with the same brush and to justify violent responses 
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,526484,00.html> 
against peaceful and aggressive protesters alike. The New York Post 
<http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nypost/20010721/cm/shot_protester_deserved_ 
what_he_got_1.html> even called Carlo Giuliani, the protester killed by 
Italian carabinieri at the G-8 summit in Genoa, an "anarchist berserker" 
who "deserved what he got." As it happens, it was during another protest, 
more than 100 years ago, that the word "anarchist" first made headlines. 
On May 1, 1886, an anarchist group called the Chicago Knights of Labor, 
whose supporters included Mary Harris "Mother" Jones 
<http://www.motherjones.com/about_us/mojo_bio.html> , staged a peaceful 
march for an eight-hour workday.  The event led to a days-long general 
strike involving thousands of workers; at one rally, police arrived and 
without provocation sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing at least one 
demonstrator.  

Laborers gathered the next day at the city's Haymarket Square 
<http://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/timeline/haymarket.html> to protest 
the violence. As the police chief shouted at the crowd to disperse, a 
bomb exploded nearby, killing one officer. Startled and angry, police 
shot into the crowd; seven more officers died in the melee, as did four 
striking workers.  

To this day, the identity of the Haymarket bomber is unknown. A number of 
strike leaders were charged in connection with the crime, and four were 
ultimately hanged.  The campaign to clear their names inspired anarchist 
movements worldwide, and led to May 1 being declared International 
Workers Day, a holiday in much of the world.  

But the word "anarchist" never was resuscitated. Writes historian W.T. 
Whitney <http://www.igc.org/laborstandard/Vol1No3/MayDay.htm> , 
"Unfortunately, the events surrounding the execution of the Haymarket 
martyrs fueled the stereotype of radical activists as alien and violent, 
thereby contributing to ongoing repression."  

In fact, the word is derived from the Greek "an", meaning "without," and 
"archos," meaning "ruler" or "authority.  Historically, anarchism has 
been defined as a philosophy opposed to hierarchy and exploitive power 
structures, an idea many lefties could love.  

Problem is, the media, a significant portion of the left 
<http://commondreams.org/views01/0724-03.htm>, and even some academics 
<http://www.foreignaffairs.org/articles/Nye0701.html> misuse and 
misunderstand the term <http://www.anarchy.org/library/miscon.html> 
"anarchy." The kid in the turtle costume marching peacefully in Seattle, 
Quebec, or Genoa may be as much an anarchist as the guy smashing the 
windows at The Gap. It isn't violence that makes the anarchist; it's the 
philosophy.  

"Anarchism emerged out of the socialist movement as a distinct politics 
in the nineteenth century," says the Institute for Anarchist Studies 
<http://flag.blackened.net/ias/>, a New York-based nonprofit. "It 
asserted that it is necessary and possible to overthrow coercive and 
exploitative social relationships, and replace them with egalitarian, 
self-managed, and cooperative social forms."  

So perhaps there is good reason why the term is so rarely used properly: 
A nuanced debate about anarchism would lend credence to a set of ideas 
that challenge the status quo.  

"This process of misrepresentation is not without historical parallel," 
argues the Anarchism FAQ <http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1931/>, an 
anarchist overview of the philosophy. "For example, in countries which 
have considered government by one person (monarchy) necessary, the words 
'republic' or 'democracy' have been used... to imply disorder and 
confusion. Those with a vested interest in preserving the status quo will 
obviously wish to imply that opposition to the current system cannot work 
in practice, and that a new form of society will only lead to chaos."  

The Web is full of resources about the history, meaning, and application 
of anarchism. In addition to the links above, check out the Anarchist 
Archives <http://ispp.org/Anarchist_Archives/anarchisthistory.html>, the 
Utne Reader Online's Anarchism 101 
<http://www.utne.com/bCulture.tmpl?command=search&db=dArticle.db&eqheadlin
edata=Anarchism%20101>, Noam Chomsky's thoughts on anarchism 
<http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/interviews/9612-anarchism.html>, and 
Britannica.com's anarchists on film 
<http://www.britannica.com/magazine/article?content_id=121803&query=anarch
ism>.  


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