Anarchists Against Nationalism

All anarchists are opposed to nationalism. Nationalism is an extension of egotism and chauvinism that encompasses an arbitrary set of social "norms" and biological factors, and promotes them as the only permissible behavior, culture and biology within a given region of the earth. Nationalism can be based on a strong centralized state, or a non-indigenous "tribe" of modern racists. Nationalism is an opportunistic way to prey on people's prejudices and stereotypes and fuse them into a social movement to achieve some goal. Nationalism is sometimes used as a way for working-class people to band together and fight an external invader or internal capitalist class... but even revolutionary nationalism is reactionary and counter-revolutionary: it scapegoats a section of the population based on factors other than class, blaming them for real and imagined flaws. Typical of nationalists is hostility toward internationalism. Internationalism maintains that all workers have common interests, and it is the nation that pits workers against each other and brings war and strife to humanity. Only internationalism will bring an end to racism, dictatorship, human strife, misery, & capitalist neoliberalism.

Sometimes nationalists use Christianity as a religion to rally around in order to be Populist. Other times they use paganism to seem radical and different. Despite attempts by nationalists to make religion or mysticism speak for nationalism, this is simply manipulation of people's belief systems. Typical of nationalist paganism is the use of the Celtic cross as a symbol on tattoos, banners, or flags of nationalists. Here is an example:
 «White Power Celtic Cross»

Anarchists fight nationalism by rejecting it and exposing it's racism, sexism, homophobia, antisemitism and xenophobia.

Recently, a right-wing fascist movement known as the 3rd Positionists has used the strategy of using left-wing symbols and images while pushing a right-wing social agenda. Just as Adolf Hitler used the name "National Socialist" for his political party and Spanish fascists used the term "National Syndicalist", 3rd Positionists use the labels "National Bolshevik", "National Libertarian", and "National Anarchist" to try to trick radicals into supporting their racist, antisemitic, and homophobic ideals. Common is embracement of the theories of Otto Strasser or the Strasser brothers and the idea of a "true socialist" National Socialism that is supposed to be different from Hitler's National Socialism... but of course if they really believed in socialism they would not be racist/nationalist.

Please take the time to read the following anarchist essays about nationalism:

You can join a mailing-list set up to oppose 3rd Positionist infiltration into the anarchist movement. Here is the info on the list:

Anti-National-Anarchist

A mailing list for real anarchists opposed to the 3rd Positionist infiltration into the anarchist movement under the racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-semitic and fascist guise of National Anarchism & the National Revolutionary Faction. Examined will be the theories of figures such as Michael Bakunin, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Peter Kropotkin, George Orwell, and others who held some controversial views but firmly opposed nationalism. Also examined will be the contributions of liberalism and marxism to anarchist theory, with a critical eye, and a general focus on opposing the national socialism / fascism of the 3rd Positionist movement. Internationalism is the best weapon against nationalism!

To subscribe to the list, send a blank message to:
anti-national-anarchist-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

To learn more about anarchism, go to A People's Libertarian Index.
Keywords: national anarchie nationale-anarchie nationalism white power white nationalist national anarchy national anarchism national anarchist Alliance Nationale-Anarchiste national-anarchist nationale anarchie Federation des Partisans du Moindre Efffort Effort National-Anarchistan FPME = Partisans of the Least Effort Federation national anarchistan national anarchist nazi national socialist national socialism national bolshevik national-bolshevik 3rd Positionist 3rd position

Last update: 4/March/2002