Regeneration

syndicalist
Posts: 1183 Joined: 15-04-06
Submitted by syndicalist on 29 April, 2007 - 03:09.

I'm curious what has lead to a regeneration of interest and activity in Solfed. As an anarcho-syndicalist, I think this is positive and would be most interested in hearing from comrades on this.

WeTheYouth "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. - Tolkien"
Posts: 1858 Joined: 16-10-03 Location: Manchester
29 April, 2007 - 12:38

I think it is down to alot of people joining SF who make solfed really accesible and desireable to others in the anarchist movement, i also think that it is down to the hard work that comrades have been doing for many years. It is also IMO that solfeds strategy and plan to build anarcho syndicalist unions in the UK far surpassing anything else which other comrades are working at (yet i respect the work the AF and IWW do).

Also i think there has been a shift in attitude in SF because of newish members who may have different positions that the comrades who have been around a while, and there is alot debate and discussions going on which is good for the development and renewal of SF.

syndicalist
Posts: 1183 Joined: 15-04-06
29 April, 2007 - 22:41

Interesting.

I guess what I'm also interested in is how an older group was able to attract a younger generation of militants. I take it that SF dramaically declined during the mid-to-late1990s and early 2000s. I suspect with that decline was also a decline in activities. So how did younger folks "find" the SF and feel that it's an organization they could be a part of? In part I ask this because there may be something for us to learn here.

I think that anarcho-syndicalists have a lot to learn from each other. SF didn't endure a brusing internal situation like WSA, but SF declined to a large extent. SF appears to have regained some momentum and I think this is positive.

WeTheYouth "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. - Tolkien"
Posts: 1858 Joined: 16-10-03 Location: Manchester
29 April, 2007 - 23:07
syndicalist wrote:
Interesting.

I guess what I'm also interested in is how an older group was able to attract a younger generation of militants. I take it that SF dramaically declined during the mid-to-late1990s and early 2000s. I suspect with that decline was also a decline in activities. So how did younger folks "find" the SF and feel that it's an organization they could be a part of? In part I ask this because there may be something for us to learn here.

I think that anarcho-syndicalists have a lot to learn from each other. SF didn't endure a brusing internal situation like WSA, but SF declined to a large extent. SF appears to have regained some momentum and I think this is positive.

There was no SF in my area, but i came to anarcho syndicalism pretty quickly through reading and after i read SF's site, it just felt like the only group i wanted to be in, and i still feel the same today. One thing which really impressed me at the time was how the former Nat. Sec. helped me out, chatted to me, pretty much on a weekly level this gave me alot of confidence in what i was doing even when i was an isolated member, i felt very welcome in SF when i joined, i thought the industrial strategy was spot on, and i was impressed with the work older SF comrades had been upto over the years.

october_lost "Not one thread, not one needle"
Posts: 1079 Joined: 26-09-03 Location: Stratford, London
29 April, 2007 - 23:24

Syndicalist, I joined the organisation about 3/4 years ago, I think quite a few people think SF have good politics (at least within the periphery I come across) but they dont have the numbers or fresh faces to implement them. Of course this does have drawbacks, you will find a reluctant but small handful of interested activists but when a few people express interest collectively its almost a snowball effect that can take place within localities, for example we have good sized branchs popping up within the space of a couple of years in new areas, of course we still have isolated members to deal with, but anarcho-syndicalist groups have quite a good potential for growth IMO. We still have to acknowledge that we live in a bit of a lag, politically but Im sure work around some of the industrial networks will pay dividends. We will also be looking into revamping some of the output from the organisation shortly.
Some of the new people to SF have brought different assessments to some of the internal workings of SF and IWA, which as improved the internal culture a bit and thankfully we have absorbed some good comrades from outside the UK and hopefully this will continue.

JDMF "G.F.H - Vegan Style"
Posts: 3220 Joined: 21-05-04 Location: Manchester
2 May, 2007 - 11:22

my personal story is that I had always though SolFed was closest to me politically but found them difficult to approach. But when I moved to Manchester I met few of the local comrades and found their politics and approach solid. Once inside the SolFed and leaving aside normal internal, sometimes heated, discussions, I think the "older membership" has been nothing more but welcoming and encouraging, even if some opinions may differ.

I think it is a healthy sign if group has internal discussion and different generations of militants within it. It is true that SolFed is changing face to some extent, especially with its influx of new members especially down south, in northampton and maybe a bit here in Manchester as well, but that happens to any living and responsive political group.

knightrose
Posts: 1934 Joined: 08-11-03
3 May, 2007 - 19:38

Speaking as an outsider, I'd say that quite a lot is due to a resurgence of interest in anarchist ideas. Solfed has grown dramatically, so has the AF. I'd guess that Solfed appeals partly because the comrades in it are approachable. They don't come across like robots or ideologues, but they do have a well worked out set of policies and ideas which they try to make accessible.

syndicalist
Posts: 1183 Joined: 15-04-06
8 May, 2007 - 11:44

Thanks folks for your thoughtful replies. Time hasn't allowed me to write some more on this. I hope to in the next few days.

One question though, for those who didn't initially meet a live SF person, but came across them on the internet, I have a question. What was it about the SF website that was most interesting? Least interesting?

Thanks.

WeTheYouth "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. - Tolkien"
Posts: 1858 Joined: 16-10-03 Location: Manchester
10 May, 2007 - 21:00
syndicalist wrote:
Thanks folks for your thoughtful replies. Time hasn't allowed me to write some more on this. I hope to in the next few days.

One question though, for those who didn't initially meet a live SF person, but came across them on the internet, I have a question. What was it about the SF website that was most interesting? Least interesting?

Thanks.

At the moment i think thet site is lacking but what attracted me the most was the constitution, i was already a convinced anarcho syndicalists by then, i think it was important for me to read that people were doing what i was thinking.

I think the WSA site could do with a little make over BTW =D

syndicalist
Posts: 1183 Joined: 15-04-06
11 May, 2007 - 01:55

WTY:"I think the WSA site could do with a little make over BTW"

I agree. This is actually one of the reasons why I asked the question.

Constructive comments/crisitisms of the WSA website are invited. feel free to PM me.