Does anyone know anything about this group? Are they vaguely libertarian? It seems like they're anti-authoritarian marxists of some sort but it's hard to glean from their website
Sister Ray,
So these Leeds people are part of Plan C though the various groups do have their differences;
http://libcom.org/forums/theory/free-association-05052011 and my comments on this thread:
http://libcom.org/library/capitalist-realism-renewed
And then some of the people previously involved with Shift Magazine ended up in Manchester Plan C. Their magazine is on-line here:
http://libcom.org/library/shift-magazine
Yeah, some anarchists in London and elsewhere are involved in Plan C as well. I think "libertarian" would be a fair descriptor of them, though not one I'm aware of them using to describe themselves as such. Haven't seen much from them recently, other than them cheerleading for Rojava (but TBH I don't pay close attention to the activist scene so I'm sure there's probably other stuff going on I'm not aware of)
Hi Sister Ray I'm involved in Plan C but I'm not sure what you are asking. Plan C is not an anarchist group, although there are people who identify as anarchists involved in it. The organisational structure might be considered libertarian but rather than being ideologically posited it has been developed pragmatically, developing new structures as, or just before, they are needed as the group grows and develops. You can get a sense of the discussion on organisation from this document: http://www.weareplanc.org/blog/anti-authoritarianism-in-practise/
The lack of ideological markers, which some seem to find disconcerting, probably stems from the group's unusual birth. While most political groups form through a split with an existing one, often over a point of ideological disagreement, that wasn't true for Plan C. It developed instead out of a series of discussion on the need for a new approach to politics (both organisationally, politically and strategically) to accord with the possibilities of the post-crisis era.
Underlying this approach for some (me included) was an autonomist class composition analysis, while another important point of reference for the group has been Marxist feminist ideas on social reproduction. However the group has been careful to try and avoid revolving around a shared intellectual heritage. Instead it has tried to develop a shared 'strategic orientation' as the point of unity. Over the last year or so the focus has been on developing the ideas and practice of the social strike - the latest expression of which is the #PicketProfiteers initiative, which organised protests in 10 different English cities last Tuesday.
http://www.pickettheprofiteers.org/
http://wire.novaramedia.com/2016/04/how-to-open-up-a-second-front-in-the-battle-for-the-nhs/
http://www.weareplanc.org/blog/socialise-the-healthcare-workers-strike/
What else? There are active Plan C groups in London, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Thames Valley, Glasgow, Brighton and Teesside (the last three being officially recognised at our twice yearly national congress that took place last weekend). There are also nascent groups in Leicester, Bristol and Hebden Bridge with other members around the country. Plan C takes part in two transnational networks, Beyond Europe and the Transnational Social Strike Network. If there's anything else you want to know I'll see if I can answer.
Hi Reg, thanks for your post, that actually cleared up quite a lot for me.
I understand about being more oriented around action than ideology, but as a group surely you must have a few core tenets? Are you explicitly anti-state? Anti-reformism?
Reg can answer for himself but I'd say that Plan C have an approach to reforms and reformism that I have described previously as promoting a form of 'libertarian transitional demands' (by comparison with the pro-state Trotskyist version). If you consider the PKK version of 'democratic confederalism' which Plan C appear to support as 'anti-state' then they are anti-state, but I don't! Plan C 'allies in action' yes sometimes, but that doesn't mark them out as in any way unique on the left.
Sister Ray, So these Leeds
Sister Ray,
So these Leeds people are part of Plan C though the various groups do have their differences;
http://libcom.org/forums/theory/free-association-05052011 and my comments on this thread:
http://libcom.org/library/capitalist-realism-renewed
And then some of the people previously involved with Shift Magazine ended up in Manchester Plan C. Their magazine is on-line here:
http://libcom.org/library/shift-magazine
Yeah, some anarchists in
Yeah, some anarchists in London and elsewhere are involved in Plan C as well. I think "libertarian" would be a fair descriptor of them, though not one I'm aware of them using to describe themselves as such. Haven't seen much from them recently, other than them cheerleading for Rojava (but TBH I don't pay close attention to the activist scene so I'm sure there's probably other stuff going on I'm not aware of)
Hi Sister Ray I'm involved in
Hi Sister Ray I'm involved in Plan C but I'm not sure what you are asking. Plan C is not an anarchist group, although there are people who identify as anarchists involved in it. The organisational structure might be considered libertarian but rather than being ideologically posited it has been developed pragmatically, developing new structures as, or just before, they are needed as the group grows and develops. You can get a sense of the discussion on organisation from this document: http://www.weareplanc.org/blog/anti-authoritarianism-in-practise/
The lack of ideological markers, which some seem to find disconcerting, probably stems from the group's unusual birth. While most political groups form through a split with an existing one, often over a point of ideological disagreement, that wasn't true for Plan C. It developed instead out of a series of discussion on the need for a new approach to politics (both organisationally, politically and strategically) to accord with the possibilities of the post-crisis era.
Underlying this approach for some (me included) was an autonomist class composition analysis, while another important point of reference for the group has been Marxist feminist ideas on social reproduction. However the group has been careful to try and avoid revolving around a shared intellectual heritage. Instead it has tried to develop a shared 'strategic orientation' as the point of unity. Over the last year or so the focus has been on developing the ideas and practice of the social strike - the latest expression of which is the #PicketProfiteers initiative, which organised protests in 10 different English cities last Tuesday.
http://www.pickettheprofiteers.org/
http://wire.novaramedia.com/2016/04/how-to-open-up-a-second-front-in-the-battle-for-the-nhs/
http://www.weareplanc.org/blog/socialise-the-healthcare-workers-strike/
What else? There are active Plan C groups in London, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Thames Valley, Glasgow, Brighton and Teesside (the last three being officially recognised at our twice yearly national congress that took place last weekend). There are also nascent groups in Leicester, Bristol and Hebden Bridge with other members around the country. Plan C takes part in two transnational networks, Beyond Europe and the Transnational Social Strike Network. If there's anything else you want to know I'll see if I can answer.
Hi Reg, thanks for your post,
Hi Reg, thanks for your post, that actually cleared up quite a lot for me.
I understand about being more oriented around action than ideology, but as a group surely you must have a few core tenets? Are you explicitly anti-state? Anti-reformism?
Reg can answer for himself
Reg can answer for himself but I'd say that Plan C have an approach to reforms and reformism that I have described previously as promoting a form of 'libertarian transitional demands' (by comparison with the pro-state Trotskyist version). If you consider the PKK version of 'democratic confederalism' which Plan C appear to support as 'anti-state' then they are anti-state, but I don't! Plan C 'allies in action' yes sometimes, but that doesn't mark them out as in any way unique on the left.