Memorial Statement for Murray Bookchin (NEFAC)

north america / mexico | history of anarchism | press release Thursday August 17, 2006 21:16 by Open City Collective - NEFAC

The Northeastern Federation of Anarchist-Communists (NEFAC) extends its deepest sympathies to the family, friends, and all of the comrades of Murray Bookchin. Comrade Bookchin was a man who rigorously believed in the ideal of a free society.

Without him, we find ourselves missing one of the great libertarian thinkers of our time--a man who was not afraid to speak and make his opinions known, whether popular or unpopular, and a man who led an active and committed life in the struggle for a true social freedom, an ecological society, and a popular, participatory, directly democratic politics. We stand enriched not only by his contributions to left libertarian thought but also by the life he lived, in which he participated in and shaped many social movements, brought the Institute for Social Ecology, along with others, into being, and was a tireless critic of anti-social and anti-democratic trends within the anarchist, radical left, and ecological milieux.

In honor of Murray’s frankness of opinion, and with true respect for his ideas, we say that as a federation of class struggle anarchists, were comrade Bookchin here right now we would find ourselves in disagreement over a number of political issues and that is particularly why we will miss him so. Here stood not only an individual who constructed a visionary and rational set of politics for a free, directly democratic society but also a person whochallenged all of those around him to think critically and sharpen their own ideas.

With revolutionary spirit and deepest respect, we lament the passing of Murray Bookchin and celebrate the life he lived. May he never be forgotten, may a new generation be inspired by his thinking and life, and may the construction of a free, classless, directly democratic society be the ultimate and lasting memorial to a man who relentlessly pursued the ideal.

Sincerely,
Open City Collective (New York City), General Secretariat
Northeastern Federation of Anarchist-Communists (NEFAC)