Two main currents of anarchism

There were a two historical ways of development of the anarchist (libertarian-socialist) movements. One was associated with resistance at the workplace, second with community's uprisings.

The first course is usually associated with revolutionary syndicalism or anarcho-syndicalism, which is not entirely true. Anti-autoritarian section of the International I, which was under the influence of Mikhail Bakunin, created ideological-anarchist "workers societys" in Switzerland, Spain and some other countries. In the 20th century this tradition has evolved in Argentina (FORA) . These movements fought for higher wages by using illegal strikes and acts of violence directed against strikebreakers and businessmen, but their main goal was uprising to change entire existing system. However, this tradition did not become dominant and eventually became weaker.

In the late 19th - early 20th centuries a new revolutionary labor movement - revolutionary syndicalism (France, Italy, Spain, USA) appears and spontaneously develops, merging closer with anarchism. Anarcho-syndicalism is the result of this development. As Bakunin's workers societys syndicalism was aimed to build self-organization in labor movement during strikes for wages. Like the supporters of Bakunin, anarcho-syndicalists maintained a direct action at the factory. They went on strike without complying with the laws of the state, they used violence, refused to negotiate collective labour agreements with the managers (they argued that workers should not make commitments in the face of the enemy) and the mediation of the state in labour conflicts, including the court. Anarcho-syndicalists understood that the struggle for a salary by itself does not go beyond capitalism. So it was important to educate workers not only self-organization but the rejection of laws: It was a way of preparing for the social revolution.

Another direction of anarchism is connected with the uprisings of territorial self-governing communes. Of course we can use as an example the Paris Commune (although it was not only anarchists), Makhnovshchina, The movement of workers-anarchists in Bialystok (Russia, now Poland) in 1904-1907 and part of Bakunin's section of the International I in Spain, which totaled of 300 thousand members in the 19th century . Interestingly, that supporters of the communitarian rebellion ("Andalusians") and supporters of the strikes worked together in the Spanish anarchism more than half a century, though their paths sometimes diverged.

Those were two ways to radical transformation of society and turning it into a Federation of self-managed collectives: Anrcho-syndicalism and Communitarian libertarian Rebellions. Sometimes these movements cooperated. Although they cannot create an anarchist society that would have existed on the territory of the whole country for a long time, all historical examples of anarchist social experiments associated with them (Paris Commune, Spanish revolution, Makhnovshchina).

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Let's see what are the modern anarchists in Europe and USA doing? Strikes in the framework of bourgeois law? Cooperation with state courts and bosses (collective agreements)? Street fights with the Nazis (in contrast to historical far-right this is mainly just another subculture) ? Rallies in support of LGBT rights? Yes, this is modern European and USA anarchism. Good or bad? I don't even want to argue about it. It just has no any connection with the preparation of the anarchist revolution.

The anarchist society never grew from such actions and will never grow, because these actions are irrelevant to the training of millions of people to the libertarian social revolution. Communes of Aragon, self-management factories of Barcelona, the Autonomous villages in the territory of the Makhnovshchina had completely different roots.

There are some anarchists in Europe who are creating a self-governing communes and participate in radical actions - direct action in some social movements. I have great respect for them but this is minority.