In hopes of fostering an exchange of tactics and momentum between liberation movements in North and South America, we have arranged a speaking tour of the East Coast for comrades from Brazil. In these presentations, they will explain the context of the new wave of unrest sweeping Brazil, tracing its trajectory and distilling lessons for anarchists and others organizing in the US. Don’t miss!
The Internet has often been compared to the Wild West: a largely unregulated space rich in opportunities, in which people may experiment with new relations. Most commentators miss the full implications of this metaphor. The Wild West was the final frontier of colonization, where the last zones of ungoverned territory were mapped, stripped of resources, and integrated into state control. Many who fled to the Wild West in search of freedom only accelerated this process of colonization. Similarly, those who champion the Internet as the new frontier of freedom may inadvertently hasten the enclosure of the last aspects of human life that remain outside the economy.
The Net is indubitably the front lines of the battle against enclosure, and it is essential to fight on the territory it presents. But should the object of that fight be to establish a democratic digital utopia? Understanding the original meaning of “computer” as a human being reduced to an algorithmic device, we set out to trace the relationship between capitalism and digitization and to imagine a digital resistance to computing itself.
Anarchist resistance to fascism has a long and colorful history. In the 12th episode of the Ex-Worker, we build on last episode’s exploration of anti-fascism with a brief glimpse into the anarchist militias and guerrillas who fought against Franco in the Spanish Revolution and beyond. The Occupied London Collective joins us for an in-depth interview about fascism and resistance in Greece, discussing how the rise of the Golden Dawn fits into the global advance of neoliberal capitalism and how Greek anarchists have responded. We also share a revised Free Speech FAQ, a tool for anti-fascists to use in challenging civil libertarian defenses of fascist organizing. A special guest contributor chips in with a set of lively anti-fascist movie reviews. Listeners offer more antifa updates and crucial ways to get involved, alongside news of riots, blockades, and so much more.
You can download this and all of our previous episodes online. You can also subscribe in iTunes here or just add the feed URL to your podcast player of choice. Rate us on iTunes and let us know what you think, or send us an email to podcast@crimethinc.com.
Recently murdered Greek anti-fascist rapper Killah P is just the latest casualty in a worldwide surge of fascist violence. In our eleventh episode of The Ex-Worker, we analyze contemporary fascism and the resistance anarchists have mounted to it, including the history of Anti-Racist Action. Interviews with the One People’s Project and New York City Anarchist Black Cross discuss the extreme right in the US today, tactics for fighting fascists, and the Tinley Park case. We also clear up a listener’s question about “National Anarchism,” roll out more Contradictionary terms, and share a ton of news and upcoming events.
You can download this and all of our previous episodes online. You can also subscribe in iTunes here or just add the feed URL to your podcast player of choice. Rate us on iTunes and let us know what you think, or send us an email to podcast@crimethinc.com.
Building on our previous exploration of insurrectionary anarchism, the tenth episode of the Ex-Worker examines how these ideas apply to environmental struggles today. We share excerpts from a debate about “The Issues Are Not The Issue,” a critical discussion of tactics and strategy in eco-defense movements, and grapple with the limitations of campaign organizing, connections based on identity versus affinity, critiques of the green left, and staying involved in struggle for the long haul. We also take a look at Desert, an anarchist analysis of climate change and the possibilities for resistance in a world of ecological disaster, share updates from imprisoned grand jury resistors and hunger strikers, round up a ton of news from global uprisings, share new reading recommendations, and plenty more.
You can download this and all of our previous episodes online. You can also subscribe in iTunes here or just add the feed URL to your podcast player of choice. Rate us on iTunes and let us know what you think, or send us an email to podcast@crimethinc.com.
This is the final installment in our “After the Crest” series exploring how to navigate the waning phase of social movements. It is a personal reflection on anarchist participation in the 2012 student strike in Montréal and the disruptions that accompanied it. The product of much collective discussion, this article explores the opportunities anarchists missed during the high point of the conflict by limiting themselves to the framework of the strike, and the risks they incurred by attempting to maintain it once it had entered a reformist endgame.
After the Crest, part IV: Montréal – Peaks and Precipices
For a narrative account of many of the events discussed in this text, read While the Iron Is Hot: Student Strike and Social Revolt in Montréal, Spring 2012.
We’re eager to hear from comrades around the world about your own experiences and conclusions regarding how to relate to the waning phase of movements, whether for inclusion in the forthcoming “After the Crest” podcast episode or elsewhere. Contact us via rollingthunder@crimethinc.com.
This is the third part in our “After the Crest” series, studying how we can make the most of the waning phase of upheavals. This installment analyzes the rhythms of struggle in Barcelona over the past several years, discussing the complex relationship between anarchists and larger social movements as popular struggles escalated and then subsided. It concludes with practical input on how anarchists can take advantage of a period of ebbing momentum.
For best results, read this text in combination with our earlier features on Barcelona: “Fire Extinguishers and Fire Starters,” describing the plaza occupation movement of spring 2011, and “The Rose of Fire Has Returned,”, focusing on the general strike of March 2012. Together, the three pieces trace the trajectory of an upheaval from its inspiring but ideologically murky inception through the high point of confrontation and into the aftermath.
This is the second part in our “After the Crest” series, studying what we can learn from the waning phase of social movements. In this installment, participants in Occupy Oakland trace its trajectory from origins to conclusion, exploring why it reached certain limits and what it will take for future movements to surpass them.
After the Crest, part II: The Rise and Fall of the Oakland Commune
Over the past six years, cities around the world have seen peaks of anti-capitalist struggle: Athens, London, Barcelona, Cairo, Oakland, Montréal, Istanbul. A decade ago, anarchists would converge from around the world to participate in a single summit protest. Now many have participated in months-long upheavals in their own cities, and more surely loom ahead.
But what do we do after the crest? If a single upheaval won’t bring down capitalism, we have to ask what’s important about these high points: what we hope to get out of them, how they figure in our long-term vision, and how to make the most of the period that follows them. This is especially pressing today, when we can be sure that there are more upheavals on the way.
To this end, we’ve organized a dialogue with anarchists in some of the cities that have seen climaxes of conflict, including Oakland, Barcelona, and Montréal. Over the next several days, we will present the results of some of those discussions here, as a series of reflections on the opportunities and risks that arise during the declining phase of a movement.
After the Crest, part I: What to Do while the Dust Is Settling
This week, we will publish a four-part series analyzing what happens in the waning phase of movements, and how to recognize the opportunities and risks they pose. We have been working on this for months in dialogue with comrades around the world. We encourage our friends to continue this dialogue via formal or informal discussions, in hopes that we might be better prepared for the next crescendo of social struggle.
