class struggle
Articles about mass working class struggles and the theory of class struggle.
1986-1987: France goes off the rails
Documents about and analysis of the mass workers struggles of students and workers in France from November 1986 to January 1987.
Between the end of November 1986 and January 1987 France experienced some significant social struggles.
No forgiveness: Algeria 2001
In June 2001 Algeria experienced almost an insurrection which progressively spread throughout the whole country. There was nothing in the media about this, so this text, with the title “Ulach smah” (“No forgiveness”), was translated from the French in July 2001 as a contribution to breaking the silence.
The photo on the left is of a riot in Algeria at this time.
[b]At this very moment Algeria is experiencing almost an insurrection which is progressively spreading throughout the whole country.
The War On Terror
The following text, written in English by some Greek friends (the TPTG), was published in July 2003 as a discussion document. Though it sometimes has some stodgy ultra-leftist phraseology and thinking, it's generally an extremely interesting summary and analysis of some important aspects of the present epoch such as the ideology of zero tolerance and the dissolution of Keynesianism.
The so-so joke on the left was produced at the end of June 2005
Introductory note
French Strikes 1995-6
In the winter of '95 - '96 there was a series of mainly public sector strikes that brought France to a virtual standstill, but didn't clearly win. This text, translated from the French, doesn't go into detail about the facts of this strike movement, but reflects on some of its contradictions.
The strike and after...
Published Spring 1996
Foreword
1926-1985: So Near - So Far - a selective history of the British miners
A long text, completed in 2005, 20 years after the end of the miners strike. It certainly has no pretensions to being complete. It covers mainly the period from '26 to '85, sometimes sketchily, sometimes in great detail, sometimes subjective, sometimes just facts. Though chronological, it jumps around in style, with texts written by different people: mainly by endangered phoenix, but also by John Dennis, Dave Douglass, the Webbs, Joe Jacobs, Solidarity, Neil Fernandez, the Spanish dockers' Co-Ordinadora, UK Wildcat and Counter-Information.
SO NEAR - SO FAR...
aspects of a history of the British miners
A Selective History of Miners' (and a few other) UK Struggles Up To And Including The 1984-5 Strike
Preamble
On the frontline: anarchists at work
Workplace Strategy of the Anarchist Federation
The following text is the official workplace strategy of the Anarchist Federation, adopted nationally in April 2009. Drawing on the experiences of AF members at the workplace, it aims to lay out the possibilities for anarchists in the here and now and open debate in the movement on workplace organisation.
Preface
China in crisis: reason to panic?
Prol-Position's outline and analysis of the development and extent of the 2008-9 financial crisis's impact on China, and its implications for working people in the region and across the world.
On co-ops, conflicts and straw men
A reply to Iain McKay on the question of anarchist responses to the economic crisis.
The initial pair of articles, ‘Bailouts or co-operatives?’ and ‘Co-operatives or conflicts’ were published in Freedom newspaper’s Christmas 2008 edition, Iain’s response to my piece is available here.
Co-operatives and conflicts!
A continuation of the discussion raised by the Bailouts or co-operatives? article, which was published in Freedom alongside another article arguing against anarchists raising the demand for co-operatives. By Iain McKay.
I'm not sure whether Joseph Kay (“Co-ops or conflicts?”) actually read my article on co-operatives before writing his piece. I would guess not, as it has the feel of a standard libertarian communist response against co-operatives within capitalism.
Co-ops or conflicts?
As half of a Freedom newspaper feature on responses to the credit crunch, Joseph Kay argues for the latter. Read the other half, Bailouts or co-operatives?
Nationalisation has long been a staple demand of the left, but now that an unprecedented nationalisation of the banking system has failed to lead to socialism, anarchist arguments that state control offers nothing to the working class would appear to have been vindicated.
