The Friends of Durruti Group: 1937-39 - Agustin Guilamòn

Guillamòn's in-depth study of the hugely important anarcho-syndicalist CNT militants who opposed their union's collaboration with the Republican government during the Spanish Civil War.

Submitted by Ed on October 15, 2011

Comments

Pennoid

10 years 11 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Pennoid on November 17, 2013

Do any critiques of this exist? I started reading it, and the whole "Them suckers lacked a vanguard ya'll!" strieks me as some serious bullshit. Gonna finish later, makes some interesting points.

Any critiques anywhere?

Black Badger

10 years 11 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Black Badger on November 17, 2013

You have to remember that Guillamon and the Bilan group were Marxists, sort of dissident Trotskyists, existing in a mixed stew somewhere between/among the POUM, Left Communism, and councilism. So of course the primary problem of the most explicitly revolutionary faction of the CNT-FAI (the FoD) was that they refused to come together as a conscious revolutionary vanguard to set up a dictatorship of the proletariat. Uh huh.

Pennoid

10 years 11 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Pennoid on November 18, 2013

I actually was pretty unaware of Guillamon's history/political situationing, so thanks for that background! ;)

Dannny

10 years 11 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Dannny on November 18, 2013

Bilan was a journal produced in French by exiled Italian Bordiguists in the 30s. Guillamón is far too young to have had anything to do with it, and has criticised the limits of the group's approach in a recent interview (in Spanish): https://archive.org/details/23oct13AnabasisGuillamon
Perhaps the confusion stems from the name of Guillamón's journal, Balance.
A new, revised edition of this book has just come out in Spanish:
http://www.kaosenlared.net/secciones/s2/memoria-historica/item/73544-los-amigos-de-durruti-historia-y-antolog%C3%ADa-de-textos.html

Black Badger

10 years 11 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Black Badger on November 18, 2013

The deeper you dig, the better the info; thx Dannny.