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Month: April 2025
Liao – Translations of Selected Articles of Pingdeng
Stolen from: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/liao-translations-of-selected-articles-of-pingdeng
Anarcho-Communist Monthly #1 Selected Articles
Tell Workers
This world is a capitalist world. What is capitalism? This is when capitalists monopolize all production tools and production items, use the monetary system, and force us workers to be their wage slaves. We workers were forced by hunger and cold, so we sold our precious labor to them to do everything for them. We workers make everything in factories and cultivate various plants on farmland. However, everything we produce is owned by the capitalists. Even if we have jobs, we can only earn tens of yuan a month. In addition, nothing can be obtained; the tens of yuan of wages are not enough to cover living expenses such as food, clothing, housing, etc. This is the hard work of wages, which creates the wealth of capitalists and the soul of capitalism. That is, “the system of responsibility, the government, military, priests, and law are the ones who protect and maintain the system of responsibility!”
In this period of the decline of capitalism, unemployment panic has become increasingly widespread and profound. At the same time, the pain and tragedies of workers have also continued to occur. The lives of workers are simply worse than cows and horses. “Give me freedom or give me death.” We workers are born in this society where all the rights to survive have been stripped away by the bourgeoisie. How can we still survive in this society?
Three years ago, our alliance published an equal monthly magazine to spread anarchy and communism. Later, due to various obstacles, it was suspended. Today, we publish this magazine again. This is to continue the spirit of equality and strive for success. At the same time, we sincerely hope that dear revolutionary workers will enthusiastically join and support this alliance and spread the ideas of this magazine to the public!
We Are Fighting
What is our strategy?
The strategy of the working class should not be an invention and planning, nor should it be a plot given from outside without their own ideals. Their own ideal is a country that eliminates capitalism!
The labor organizations that emerge from the current society are the germination of a future unified society. Therefore, the strike, the only weapon of the working class, is the seed of our strategy.
We know that the proletariat, which has developed along with capitalism, has greatly expanded and deepened its struggle. Partial strikes have lost their meaning, while group strikes have become general. We must consolidate some of the strikes into those of the General Alliance, and expand and transform the General Alliance strikes into a social revolution of the working class against capitalism and the state!
In this period of rebellion, we must take advantage of the highest priority opportunity to immediately establish all production institutions and consumer goods, so that the working class can actually have all the food, clothing, and shelter. At the same time, we must abandon all cowardly kindness and destroy all remnants of the powerful class rule of the government, release prisoners, destroy banks and police stations, destroy all documents belonging to private property societies, etc. Breaking down all barriers and boundaries, removing all debt certificates, dismantling the management of the barracks guards and policemen, and executing the famous military leaders and policemen. This is an important matter for the revolutionary working class. Having completely destroyed all vestiges of the rule of capital and the state, we must also carry out production on a new basis for as long as possible, that is, extend the existing labor organizations and their combinations and make them manageable. Production; each city must start working independently to establish an anarchist and communist society!
A General League strike is the best way to eliminate and destroy the government. The strength of the army can only be strong when it is concentrated in many places and severely trained. If they are scattered throughout the country, they will have little power. Moreover, if the sergeants once believed that what they were killing was not internal enemies, but only the entire working class, many of them would turn against each other, and they would think that they still had many relatives in their hometown. The same strike, and the same threat of gunfire, if he awakens and arouses his feelings of solidarity with the toiling brothers, at that time, the soldiers will immediately lose their power in front of the revolutionary workers, and the government will inevitably will be smashed to pieces by the loud cries of liberated mankind.
Therefore, in our opinion as anarcho-communists, economic struggle and political struggle cannot represent two completely different and unrelated divisions in themselves. Together they gather the fighting power of the working class to resist all forms of oppression, capitalists and the government.
We identify the great principle and give it life. That is to say, “the liberation of workers is a matter for the working class itself.” Because we do not believe that political parties can achieve anything against the liberation of the working class. The price they pay for the workers’ miserable struggle is only some one-sided and minor reforms. We believe that only the direct struggle of the working class can and will accomplish the destruction of the existing capitalist social order.
Therefore, we state our strategy as follows: “To join the struggle of the working class, to direct its uninterrupted expansion and deepening, to fan it and sustain the fire of the fighting spirit until we have fundamentally shattered the bond between capitalism and government.”
This is our lesson, and this is the meaning of our struggle! We must use this lesson and meaning — the General Allied Workers — to complete the social revolution. We must know that the heroic revolution and the political revolution are history.
Watch Out, Capitalist Lackeys!
The struggles of dock workers in San Francisco have spread to Seattle, Portland, and Los Angeles. This kind of heroic struggle has alarmed the imagination of the bourgeoisie, and their lackeys — the police. In order to protect the interests of his master, he opened his eyes wide and barked at the revolutionary workers, and also thought about staging a massacre to suppress the revolutionary uprising. However, while the workers’ bodies can be killed, the revolutionary spirit cannot be eliminated. The sound of social revolution has shaken the whole world, and the blood tide of social revolution will also surge forward. By then, the lives of these lackeys will be over. I warn you now, dogs of Capital, watch out!
The So-Called National Revolution
What the Kuomintang advocates is the national revolution. The so-called “national revolution” is to unite businessmen, workers and peasants in order to make revolution. Businessmen are the bourgeoisie, and workers and peasants are the proletariat. The interests of the two conflict with each other. So is there any possibility of union? In this way, this kind of revolution is just about killing the poor.
Yes, he did revolutionize the lives of the poor. Look! The warlords and bureaucrats of the Kuomintang are fighting for power and profit, making it difficult for people to earn a living. The workers are all being exploited, and those who uphold justice are always in danger of being shot. What is called national revolution is not actually a revolution for the people!
Roosevelt is a Lackey of the Bourgeoisie
Roosevelt saw that capitalism was bankrupt and that his masters, the capitalists, would be overthrown by the working class. So Roosevelt planned with his masters day and night to find a way to save dying capitalism. After all, Roosevelt’s policies have failed. The most famous NRA has declared bankruptcy. If we look at the general degradation of unemployment among American workers and the acrimony of the revolution, we know that Roosevelt is helpless. Roosevelt, the top lackey, you can rest!
Our Program
First, we believe that “class struggle” is the basis for the liberation of workers and peasants.
Second, we reject all political movements and advocate “economic direct action.”
Third, we advocate “free association of industrial groups” and exclude “centralization of power.”
Fourth, we expel the centralized “presidents” and “leaders” of workers’ and peasants’ organizations.
Fifth, we believe that “the liberation of the working class is a matter of the working class itself.
Sixth, we oppose “nationalism” and promote “international unity of the working class.”
Seventh, we believe that “communism” must eliminate “government,”
Eighth, we must overthrow “imperialism” and advocate the fundamental elimination of “capitalism.”
Ninth, we want human beings to evolve freely and advocate the abolition of “religion” and “family.”
Anarcho-Communist Monthly #2 Selected Articles
My Social Beliefs
Although I have experienced a lot of setbacks, I am not pessimistic about the realization and prosperity of anarchism in the future. The reason why I say this is that North America is where I was attracted by the anarchist doctrine. Restraint, and this is the result of my direct observation of human behavior.
First, everyone loves freedom by nature, and anarchism became a doctrine based on this principle.
Second, and this is the most important point of my social beliefs, even though most human beings live in poverty and misery, there is also a very small group of people who exploit the working class, resulting in economic inequality, which directly. This is why the State came into being to maintain this unfair system.
Third, science tells us that nothing is permanent. We anarchists firmly believe that the slavery system of money will inevitably be eliminated along with the previous serfdom system.
Although there are many other theories in the world that seek to transform the current social system, I firmly believe that mankind can only achieve true liberation through anarchist communism. As for using compromise, cover-up or other various improvement methods to demand justice or hope for peaceful concessions from capital society, it is impossible. In order to maintain their predatory status, the protectors of capitalism (the State) must first rise up and fight against the proletariat. A bloody battle.
I don’t even believe that the bourgeoisie can maintain world peace. In fact, every monarchy or democracy is trying to find a world market to sell their goods. They compete with each other, and the result is a world war. In the future, the second world war will happen. The war will be more cruel than the world war of 1914.
We anarchists should use anti-war propaganda to arouse the proletariat and transform the second war that will break out under capitalism into implementing social revolution. Anarchism is universal, not just for one tribe or race. It has no unreasonable boundaries created by anyone. In an anarchist society, everyone is equal, and slave labor must be eradicated. The proletariat of the world, suffering from unemployment and war, will eventually rise up to accept our call. When they are ready to respond to our call, we will begin to unite to implement social revolution and complete an anarchist communist society of freedom and equality.
Misunderstanding or Slander?
“Of course, anarchy and communism are the ‘Great Harmony.’” This sentence is used by the bourgeoisie to slander the anarchist party. We only feel that the bourgeoisie is despicable, helpless, and shameful.
How pitiful! There are a few anarchists who say “anarchist communism is Great Harmony.” The so-called “Great Harmony” clearly means that Yao’s throne was passed on to Shun instead of his son, and Shun’s throne was passed on to Yu instead of his son. This is to make the throne public to the world. The so-called “world is of the common people” is. “Selecting talents and talents” refers to the selection of a worthy person to succeed the emperor; “Speaking of faith and cultivating harmony” refers to using the education of “faith” and “lu” to consolidate the status of the emperor. “Making the old man have something to end” refers to the power of the government. If that person can be loyal to the government throughout his life and does not rebel, then the government will give him a chance and ask him to enter a nursing home until his death. If he dies, give him a grave. On the contrary, if he is not loyal to the government, he will die as a “message”. “ “Not to be the only one” means that there is still a family system. This is called “Great Harmony.”
After I got off work, I still felt tired. But when I thought about the harm caused by the phrase “Great Harmony,” I took up my pen and wrote this very short article. I wanted to expose “Great Harmony” with that pen!
The Communist Party Speaks Nonsense
The Communist Party wants to cover up its crimes, so it often tells the working class that the Communist Party must go through a “transitional period” to get through to anarchy and communism. In fact, such nonsense only increases the anger of the working class!
The so-called “transitional period” means practicing communism for a few years and then practicing anarcho-communism. However, is communism what is practiced in Russia now? In fact, after the Tsar was overthrown, the Communist Party succeeded the Tsar and ruled the whole of Russia. The government was made by the Communist Party, and the capitalists were made by the Communist Party. The wage system exists, and the private system exists. In short, the Communist Party is just a new bureaucrat and a new capitalist. In other words, the Communist Party is a bureaucratic party; the Communist Party Doctrine is red capitalism. The so-called “transitional period” is nothing but lies!
Will the evil government suddenly die on a certain day of a certain year? Will the capitalists who make a living from exploitation suddenly show mercy and give up all their private property on a certain day of a certain year?
Anarcho-Communist Monthly #3 Selected Articles
Comment on the San Francisco General Strike
The general strike has temporarily failed. This is a fact that we do not need to deny and cannot deny.
The daily struggles of the dock workers expanded. Although it did not expand to the entire United States and other countries around the world, during this great struggle period of the strike, the passionate emotions and heroic actions of the workers’ struggle were deeply expressed! However, the General strike failed for three reasons:
The first reason is that yellow scabs collude with ordinary bureaucrats and politicians, specializing in breaking strikes and auctioning workers’ interests;
The second reason is that the red scabs deceive and bewitch workers to engage in activities to fight for political power, alienate them, and split all activities of the revolutionary workers’ struggle;
The third reason is that the strike of the conference turned into a strike manipulated by the bureaucracy due to the control of the conference affairs by the two scabs, yellow and red. The first and second reasons are obvious matters and need no further explanation. The third reason needs to be explained a little bit.
During this general strike, a small number of businessmen made a fortune, and some workers in San Francisco did not even have a place to drink coffee. This was because during the general strike, confiscation was not carried out immediately. It was a revolutionary action, so it failed after all. However, during the general struggle of the General League strike, the scabs or other politicians and bureaucrats manipulated the strike meeting to destroy the direct economic struggle of the revolutionary workers, causing the strike to lose its function. This is called a “bureaucrat-manipulated strike.” There is no strike that is controlled by the bureaucracy but fails.
Although this general strike failed, we learned several valuable lessons:
Firstly, As soon as the General League strike begins, confiscation must be carried out to take back the things monopolized by the capitalist class and the things they have stolen from the working class.
Secondly, economic equality is the guarantee of working class freedom. Therefore, workers must resolutely reject political power activities and labor-capital compromise; and reject the manipulation and control of political parties; in our struggle actions, we must recognize that “the liberation of workers is a matter of the working class itself.”
Thirdly, the ideal of anarchist communism is a state that eliminates capitalism; every worker should not have any other agenda than their own ideal — anarchism — and should follow the ideal of anarchism and expand from daily struggle to the struggle of the working class. A time when capitalism and government are fundamentally broken.
We workers should keep these three lessons in mind and properly apply these three lessons in our struggle strategies!
Anarcho-Communist Monthly #4 Selected Articles
Reflection on the Failure of the San Francisco General Strike
The San Francisco General Strike, which attracted worldwide attention, began to erupt on July 16th. Will this general strike wipe out the old unequal system and create a new perfect society? It is naturally difficult for people on the outside to predict, but after a little careful observation of this, anyone who has participated in the labor movement can understand that there are already many obstacles standing in front of the workers to hinder their revolutionary actions.
For example, the workers above are not without revolutionary preparations and revolutionary determination. Let us examine the strike trends in various parts of the United States. The heroic actions of workers sacrificing countless flesh and blood are all obvious proof that they already have great determination. And it proves that they have a fearless spirit towards revolution. Even though the police, soldiers, bureaucrats, bourgeoisie, and those who specialize in spreading rumors openly jointly attack the workers, people continue to resist them without flinching.
The general strike in San Francisco was auctioned off by a group of labor leaders who specialized in living off the blood and sweat of workers. The auction plan had already been put into effect on June 16th. At that time, a representative of the union secretly signed the agreement with the capitalists and the mayor. The agreement on auctioning workers’ interests was intended to force workers to revise it.
Although the previous conspiracy to auction off the workers’ interests in New York was considered a success, the workers in San Francisco had long been aware of the evil intentions. After the agreement was signed, it was immediately rejected by all workers. At the same time, it was announced that the representative had no right to represent the workers, and the agreement was declared invalid. It was demanded that factories controlled by the capitalists should be managed by the workers, and all sympathizers participated in the strike. The conditions required by the workers should be addressed simultaneously. This kind of courageous and united spirit makes their enemies fearful!
Several scabs from the San Francisco Federation of Trade Unions also arbitrarily attacked the workers’ revolutionary actions. Later, the lackeys of the state bourgeoisie — the police — staged a massacre of workers on the waterfront, killing two people and injuring more than a hundred others. After the tragedy, all workers were aroused with indignation, and the sound of a general strike shocked the whole city. At this time, the scabs saw the wind and had to change their attitude. On the surface, they had to change their attitude, retract their attacks on the workers, and admit that a general strike was also If necessary, a so-called strike design committee with seven members was organized. However, they deliberately delayed the realization of the “strike” and carried out their so-called peaceful movement. However, the capitalists were unwilling to accept the conditions unless they were detrimental to the workers. Of course, the workers were unwilling to surrender and would suffer increased exploitation by the capitalists. All mediation efforts were ineffective, so the general strike was launched on July 16th.
On the second day after the implementation of the general strike, the scabs had already launched a strike cancellation movement. By the fourth day, the vigorous general strike had begun. It was extremely shameful to be killed by this class of scabs. At this time, the capitalists hid their true colors of hating workers and took this opportunity to expose them. They ordered their lackeys, the police and low-level gangsters, in the park, assembly halls, canteens, and even the Master’s house, using the most despicable means, beating workers, destroying workers’ clubs, and arresting hundreds of workers. The so-called law and order in today’s society is nothing more than this!
The reason why the general strike failed was not because the workers lacked the spirit of solidarity, nor because the workers were unable to withstand the coercion of the bourgeoisie and the ruling class. Its failure was due to the capitalist collaboration with the union leaders in the labor city of the workers.
The failure of this strike taught the workers a good lesson. It warned the workers that it is very dangerous to trust their leaders, so workers should believe in themselves in the future, and they will always be able to work the second time in the future, and workers should not be forced to work again. If you are deceived by the city, you should stand up and take charge of your own career.
It is not a long journey from defeat to victory, if the workers have the determination to make a revolution. Judging from past facts, workers already have such conditions. Then, as soon as the fury of the revolution arrives, the bourgeoisie and the ruling class will collapse like a landslide, and an anarchic society of thousands of freedoms will replace the pseudo society. Just like the brilliance of his mouth, it will shine on this world. Our people in the world have begun to enjoy a new and beautiful life!
Who’s Fantasizing
“You are dreamers!”
When we ignore social injustice, raise the banner of revolution, and shout for building an anarchic society, we are attacked from all sides: “You are utopians!”
Utopians are never satisfied with the status quo. People who devote themselves to reforming social work are often regarded as utopians. Not only this, anyone who sees a new truth and calls out to people loudly is treated as a dreamer.
Since the beginning of human society, how many people have been dreamers?
However, in looking at the evolution of human society, we point out that, driven by this era, has made us evolve from the cave dwelling era to today’s civilized era. It is all the power of such visionaries.
When Columbus said he believed there was land beyond the old world, didn’t others laugh at him as a visionary? But now we publish magazines on land in America. Besides, if someone mentioned airplanes a hundred years ago, others would definitely think of them as crazy but now, if someone has never seen an airplane, they will be laughed at as having little knowledge.
Instead of the government, replace it with management agencies; instead of law, replace it with free consent; abolish the distinction between national classes and give all people the opportunity to work and the rights to enjoy it. All the energy is used in construction. No one will do the work of destruction. Such a society is extremely reasonable and develops according to natural procedures. Who can deny it and say it is unwholesome? Do you think it is evil? I dare to say: Absolutely not!
“You have no way!” Others said. No way? We have made it very clear that such a society cannot be realized overnight. We must prepare for revolution. We know that the purpose of revolution is transformation and construction. We know that the power of workers and peasants is the basic power. We explain clearly everything from daily struggles to General League strikes, and even the organization of consumption and production and the defense of revolution in times of transition. All this has been discussed in great detail in many books, newspapers and lectures.
So who can still laugh at us with our fantasy?
Look! In Spain, southern Europe, the fire of revolution has been ignited. Don’t underestimate the work of those “ideologues”, they will change the face of the world.
Anarcho-Communist Monthly #5 & 6 Selected Articles
We Are There
Some people, our friends and enemies, feel that we anarchists have been silent for too long, and they often ask: “Where are you anarchists?” Because they have not heard our voice for a long time.
Where are the anarchists? This is not a difficult question to answer. Someone has already answered it like this: The Industrial Workers of the World, The Union of Young Anarchists of All Nations, in France, Germany, Austria, Spain, etc, the anarchist federations and trade unions of the world, in the prisons of Italy, the United States, Poland, Bulgaria, Argentina, Japan and other countries, and in the fortress of Soviet Russia.
However, this answer is not enough; anarchism cannot yet exist in these places. Although the activities of the C.N.T., which has millions of workers all over Spain, under the banner of anarchism, has become a fact that shocked the world in recent days. The power of anarchists in Western Europe cannot be understated, and it has been generally recognized by people. But apart from this, there are still thousands of people all over the world who are burying their heads, shutting up, and actually doing anarchist work, that is, to help the working class seek their own liberation. Therefore, it is not just those who always use the slogan ofAnarchism to propagate ism to people, they are anarchists. Therefore, it is not only those people who are always talking about socialism and advocating it to people on the streets, but those who write about freedom and struggle, go for justice, shoulder the mission of human liberation and fight bravely to achieve success. Those who die are anarchists; those who work for the people. Those who seek the liberation of the people and believe that the way to achieve the liberation of the people is the way of freedom, and who believe that organizations organized by free association will replace the institutions that govern people and become the basis of future society, may not say that they are anarchists themselves. But in fact they are.
Therefore, anarchists are not only on the gallows, under bullets, in prisons, in trade unions, in assembly halls, and on the battlefield, but they are also among the people, in remote villages, and in all places where there are human beings and immortals. We can certainly say that wherever there are interests of the people, there are anarchists. When the people seek their own liberation, fight for their own interests, or even rise up against their oppressors, then the people themselves are anarchists. Or, even though they may not understand the meaning of this term.
You see. Anarchists are everywhere, shouting and silent. They are all anarchists. Therefore, it is not surprising that the anarchist voice cannot be heard during this period, because the work of the silent ones cannot be heard over the work of the shouters.
Inform the People
The tragedy of unemployment has spread all over the world. Or maybe you have never tasted the bitter taste of unemployment, but you can see the pain and misery of unemployed people from newspapers in various places or from society. There is no person who does not have sympathy for the unemployed.
Although you may not be a member of the proletariat now; if you admit that you are a member of society and an enlightened one, you must get up immediately and embark on the road of anarchism to seek a fundamental solution. It is a legitimate method, so we working class must unite and work hard to overthrow our enemies, the capitalists — because they deprive us of the clothes and public goods we have earned through hard work, and force us to suffer from hunger, cold, illness, and even death.
The capitalists have seized the machinery of production with city rights, and they require us proletarians to sweat and sweat to make things for them to enjoy, and to cultivate fields and cultivate crops for them to eat. You see! They live effortlessly. They live in tall houses, wear colorful clothes, use exquisite utensils, and eat delicious food. As for us working class, we have no house to live in and no clothes to wear. Food is good, and the harder you work, the less reward you get. Do we, the working class, still want to work for them (capitalists) wholeheartedly? Aren’t you still aware of it? If you are bloody, please get up quickly and kill our enemies. Take back our interests.
If we want to defeat the capitalists, we must overthrow their protectors, the government, in order to achieve a fundamental solution. Because the government is the defender of all power — the source of all evil. The only way capitalists can exist now is to be protected by the government. You see! Capitalists have occupied all production machines, not making them available to society, and depriving workers of their blood, sweat and lives, all these are unreasonable cannibalism; however, the government continues to defend them (capitalists); if the workers have some demands on the capitalists, the government will immediately do its best to suppress our workers, intimidation, and even killing, in the final analysis, the government must be overthrown and cannot be allowed to continue!
At the Crossroads
Economic panic everywhere has pushed the capital system to the stage, and with it comes another panic, which is the panic of ideas.
The bankruptcy of capitalism ushered in an era of world revolution, and we are now facing this bloody situation. The situation of the Spanish revolution is currently developing. On the one hand, because of the interdependence between countries, and on the other hand, because of the serious situation caused by economic panic, the fire of revolution in one country will inevitably burn to other countries, destroying the revolutions in other countries. It must be an extremely violent blow to defeat its real target — international capitalism.
In this fierce battle, thought is an important warrior in the battle. The revolutionary experience of France and Russia has revealed how a powerful thought becomes powerful. The French Revolution was deeply influenced by the democratic ideas held by Democrats and others.
The current Spanish anarchists and anarcho-syndicalists, who represent the anarchist movement of free thought and free association, develop models for a new society of the future.
In the future revolutionary struggle, the two doctrines will present their solutions to the problem of social revolution. This is the state socialism represented by the Bolsheviks and the anarchism represented by the anarchists.
The Bolsheviks are state socialists. They advocate overthrowing the current political system and using the most centralized state as a tool to build socialism. This has been implemented in Russia, but what is the result?
No matter how loudly the propaganda organs of the Bolivarian Party brag, we clearly know many certain facts. Russia is a country where the people have been reduced to the status of serfs. Russia is completely surrounded by bureaucrats and politicians. In Russia, the only words heard are “obedience” “This word means that all social undertakings that should be owned by the public are controlled by politicians and bureaucrats, and the people are oppressed by this reactionary organization day by day.
Just imagine that under the rule of a country, the (Russian) people do not have the freedom to move without special permission from the state. What kind of work should the people do, what kind of books should they read, what kind of plays should they watch, and what should the people and their children do? What kind of education they receive is determined by the state.
All the old systems that represent the extreme corruption of capitalism have been moved to Russia and implemented. The wage system, class boundaries, special rights, forced military service, well-organized detective squads… all still exist in Russia. If anyone dares to doubt the power of the Bolshevik dictatorship to control the lives of 160 million Russian people and destiny, disaster will befall him. The so-called construction of a new society means the dictatorship of the proletariat. This is an extremely absurd misinterpretation of the revolution. Therefore, it is extremely urgent that a new theory is needed to avoid the trap that the authoritarians fall into.
Only anarchism can meet this demand. Anarchism advocates that all social undertakings should be taken up by free groups. Anarchism replaces the coercive system with common voluntariness as the rule. Anarchism firmly believes that freedom is the key to society. Human beings are necessary for evolution. Human development can only be achieved in a free and equal society.
We oppose all systems of hierarchy, and we oppose the state, because the fundamental nature of the state is a tool for one class to exploit another class. We believe that true freedom will not be realized unless all systems of exploitation are eradicated, so we advocate the elimination of the wage system, and a new society must be built on the principle that everyone can do what they can, everyone gets what they need, and everyone has equal rights.
It is in vain to wait for free men under the principles of a free society.
The newly invented mass production machines in modern times can already produce the daily necessities and flood the society. In the future, the private property system and the exploitation system will be abolished. Everyone is currently engaged in useless occupations and will be transformed into those engaged in production. If we work, how endless will human prosperity be in the future?
This means that for the first time in human history, man has been able to freely develop his talents.
Now mankind is at a crossroads. Soon they will be forced to choose one of these two roads.
The Anarcho-Syndicalist Movement in Japan
The anarcho-syndicalist movement in Japan is in a very difficult position because counter-revolutionary propaganda in Japan is increasing day by day. All the workers’ groups affiliated with the International Workers’ Association were originally scheduled to hold their national annual conference last month, but they were canceled. The Japanese government banned it. At the same time, our publications, including our official newspaper (The Worker’s Newspaper) and the anarchist monthly (Under the Black Flag), were banned by the authorities. We have adopted peaceful means in order to achieve liberation, but it has been useless so far. , and the government is desperate to ban our publications. Under such circumstances, we can only carry out our work under extreme secrecy.
Since our annual meeting was strictly prohibited by the government and could not be held, we immediately convened the workers’ groups affiliated with the International Workers’ Association to hold a national conference in Osaka. At that time, workers’ groups from Tokyo, Kobe, Nagoya, Oita and other places were summoned to the meeting. Representatives, these representatives went through many difficulties because they escaped the attention of the police dogs, so they overcame these difficulties and finally disappointed the police dogs.
The entire situation of our movement, both objectively and subjectively, was discussed in detail at this meeting, and it was unanimously approved that our trade union should immediately join the National Federation of Free Workers’ Unions. (It is also an anarcho-syndicalist labor group.) Struggle together. Because their purpose is the same as ours.
The representatives expressed their utmost sympathy for the Industrial Workers of the World, which advocates the unity of revolutionary workers all over the world and opposes all coercion based on the principles of freedom and solidarity. And all generations have unanimously sympathized with the Spanish anarcho-syndical movement (C.N.T.), because the Spanish comrades have made heroic and continuous struggles for the real liberation of the workers, which is particularly worthy of our attention and imitation.
Just last month we secretly printed the book “The Principles, Meanings and Purposes of the International Workers’ Association” by the International Workers’ Association.
New York Awakeness Society Established
The Chinese in New York have always expressed sympathy for the anarchist communists. Recently, I heard that some of the hard-working elements among them established the Awakeness Society in order to study knowledge, increase their knowledge, explore the truth, and transform society. As the plan progresses, the society has begun to organize research classes and books.
Anarcho-Communist Monthly #7 Selected Articles
Give Us Work
Unemployment has become a major issue that attracts everyone’s attention today. And the severity of this problem is increasing day by day. With the world in an economic panic, we clearly see that on the one hand, a lot of goods are piling up without anyone taking care of them; on the other hand, tens of millions of unemployed workers are crying and complaining in slums, no matter what government officials, capitalists and philanthropists claim. In the hope of relief, in fact this contradictory phenomenon is only getting worse. Because they simply can’t solve it.
This contradictory phenomenon can expose the fallacy of some economists. We have never “produced surplus”, as they say; to be honest, nothing that has been produced in the world is too much to be used by ordinary people. To give a simple example, many people in mainland China have no rice to eat, but some rice merchants make huge profits by selling rice abroad.
The purpose of current capitalist production is not to satisfy needs, but to make profits. For example, Britain sent large quantities of woolen fabrics to the Chinese market, while some residents throughout Britain wore ragged clothes. The export of each country is not his own surplus. Workers cannot buy the items they need with the wages they earn, so these items are exported to foreign countries to make a profit for the capitalists. In this way, we cannot say that workers do not need items, we can only say that workers have no power.
Regarding this issue, we will discuss it in detail in the “Theory and Practice of Anarchism” in the future. Now we only cite the solutions we have proposed before: joint production and joint consumption. Our slogan is: From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.
Naturally, this slogan cannot be fully realized in one day. From production for profit to production for consumption, we have to go through a number of different steps, including a lot of painstaking statistics and sorting work, as well as new and improved production technologies. But we can boldly say now that this is the most effective way to solve unemployment.
Under the capitalist wage system, the problem of unemployment cannot be solved. Anarchism takes the overthrow of capitalism as its starting point and replaces production for consumption with production for profit. Under this situation, every worker is no longer a slave to wages. They produce for the public and for themselves. If they can get what they need, there will never be the paradoxical and strange phenomenon called overproduction. The factory will not close down due to unsalable goods. On the contrary, in order to meet the needs of all mankind, there will only be a shortage of goods, and the factory will only expand, and more workers will be needed.
In this period, from the current unreasonable industrial system to a society with rational production, I worry about the lack of goods! In the beginning, even if all people came to participate in production, we may still not be able to meet needs. In order to meet the needs of all, people must work at that time, as we will never let many people in the world waste time in poverty and sorrow. People are not lazy. Today, in the United States alone and in San Francisco alone, people everywhere are shouting: “Give us work.” However, no one hears their shouts. Even if they are heard, no one does anything about it.
When you are unemployed and have nothing to do — a lot of energy is wasted like this. Many people find work until they die, and many people commit suicide because they cannot find a job. However, there is much work to do in this society.
“Give us work to do,” the cry never stopped, and became louder and louder. Friends, there is work. As long as you stand up and spend your time shouting and looking for a job to overthrow the capitalist wage system, you have work to do. Capitalism is the cause of your unemployment. You should not let it exist anymore, you should not lower your head and ask for work from it.
Human labor is a very valuable thing at all times. Only in today’s capitalist society, a lot of labor is regarded as redundant and allowed to go to waste. Not wanting to accept this wasted fate, a loud voice shouted, “Give us work to do!”
My friends! No one can give you a job. You should unite and take the work into your own hands. When you do this, you work to overthrow the unreasonable current society.
Critique of Historical Materialism
Anarchists may not always agree on materialism or historical materialism. For example, the famous non-Marxist economist Christian Carnelissen, although an anarchist, claims to believe in historical materialism. Although Kropotkin adopted a materialist research method or a corroborative research method, he cannot be said to be a materialist. His attitude of vigorously promoting ideals is completely opposed to materialists. Carnelissen believed in historical materialism because he believed in it from the standpoint of the theory of evolution. It was by no means a materialist view of history that relied on dialectics and so on. As for Kropotkin, he just laughed at dialectics and did not regard it as a problem.
But in our country, the dialectical materialist view of history is very popular, and even among us, some people use it as a problem, so I would like to briefly express my opinion. If I express my opinion in one sentence, the Marxist school of historical materialism or the dialectical materialism of history first regards the human world as a kind of machine, and secondly regards the facts reflected in a small part of human life, and thirdly uses metaphysical doctrines as a standard to judge the infinitely deep and wide life phenomena; to define the complex real social life based on metaphysical teachings. Therefore, based on the actual judgment based on this principle, it is natural that everything is wrong. Although materialists are a good weapon when the bourgeoisie uses the power of wealth to fight against the feudal power class, they have become the biggest obstacle to the free liberation of the proletariat. Today’s Bolsheviks in Russia actually originate from this dialectical materialism, the idea of the dictatorship of the proletariat.
For the sake of explanation, we separate philosophical materialism from historical materialism, and criticize dialectical historical materialism in particular. After that, we will talk about the criticism of the inevitability derived from this historical materialism. The first materialism is materialism. Theory is a term for idealism, an idea. The opposition between materialism and idealism is an idea that has existed since the era of ancient philosophy, that is, this debate has not yet been completed today. In my opinion, I believe that matter and mind are two sides of phenomena, but in fact they are just one thing. There is a fire burning in the furnace. From the outside, it looks like black iron, but from the inside, it looks like blazing fire. It is wrong to just say it is fire or iron.
In the Japanese translation of Bukharin’s Historical Materialism, it is said that the life that appears on the surface of the earth is the last thing of its own material existence. Such things as mental phenomena only seem to have passed through a very small number of years in the long time of the earth. Even based on this, it can also be said that the spirit is just a manifestation of matter. But this is called life or spirit. Botanists say that plants also have spirits, and mineralogists say that stones and soil also have life and meaning. According to experiments conducted by scholars, even the earth can breathe about once every twelve o’clock, so its breathing tidies up the strata under the earth’s crust. This is still a close observation.
In this breath, the sun, moon and other stars in the universe will also be affected by it and perform complex functions. In this way, things like the earth are also alive, intentional, and beautiful. This is based on the relationship with the universe as a whole. Therefore, it can be said that the earth has a beautiful spirit, and the universe has a great spirit. artistic spirit. Recently in Germany, the so-called Expressionist theory of art and Expressionist outlook on life are very popular. Thoughts like this arose precisely to oppose traditional materialism. In particular, we cannot see that the European war took place against the background of modern material civilization, mechanical worldview, materialism, capitalism, etc., and therefore new ideas arose in response to it. Therefore, it is natural that their movement is promoted with extremely fierce arguments. And what becomes the basis of his thoughts is the companionship of the power of spirit and soul. One of the expressionists, Dievold, said in his book “Anarchy in Drama” as follows:
The intelligence of the instrument is used as the criterion for evaluation. In its social life, it is only regarded as the most powerful weapon and god of industrial war. The classical era requires humanity, but today’s people and ancient ethics of goodness and beauty require beauty and virtue from civilization, while the Middle Ages requires money and the speculation of profit-seeking people to dominate education. That kind of muscle-building power, good or evil, is not a question. In the Anglo-American style, everyone in the country is just a number. Only the brain and the spiral are valued. The organization has unified individuality. Offices, factories, and the military have returned to things. Everyone is a pure profit that has been turned into a trust. The wheel of machinery, industrial war and coercion between states have become of little value. The soul has been completely lost, and in the mechanical operation of daily life, the intellect is a brain without ideas, that is, a spirit without spirit. Speech, almost only used in intellectual forms and other forms. Everyday language has almost become a consensus.
But this is not surprising. Since then, the concept of soul has been completely lost, and the concepts of spirit and soul have been completely confused. Like this, scholars and poets in the mechanical cultural era studied or composed it; but this was just a mechanical person without a soul. However, the dramatists of the school relied on the description of character and environment to describe the world. Science relies on microscopes and experiments. Psychology relies on analysis, starting from moral free will. What is most human is ethical feeling and what can be known that together achieves victory, arranging everything as knowledge. And its “spirit is extended and will reach the limit of all things; criticism is swaying, and the soul judges with countless instincts.”
The soul will become the most intimate connection with the body, and this incredible inner soul will reach the deepest divine observation and poetry of our mood. It penetrates all human hearts and listens to the deepest voice of conscience. “The soul is pleased with the moral laws (commandments) and the laws that compress its life, and looks at the consciousness of the will; but the soul obediently waits for the spirit that the artist has entered. The form. And the spirit creates the ideal body inspired by the soul and incorporated into the heart. This description is very abstract and metaphysical. In our opinion, it seems to be unacceptable. It is only necessary to understand that this tendency of thought is a new tendency arising from material civilization that resists the same tendencies of modern materialism, mechanical worldview, and capitalism. The idea of expressionism must have a clearer argument in Germany, but unfortunately it cannot be introduced here.
In the UK, I can look up to Edward Carpenter, as the pioneer of expressionism. Carpenter’s books are read with pleasure by many Germans, as I have heard personally. The so-called “life is an expression”, he already said it thirty years ago. Especially in his updated book “The Art of Creation”, he said: The materialistic worldview has been popular for forty or fifty years ago, but today, it is said that it is based on the phenomenon of things, rather than the formation and formation of the mind. Representation is a kind of expression of thought, and its expression is regarded as a kind of art. Life is expression, so it comes back to the idea of art. To understand Carpenter’s ideological strategy in more detail, let me introduce one section of it.
“Any so-called general theory or opinion will not be of much value if it is not based on detailed and practical observation, so here I want to examine how various things that we actually know almost exist. However, regarding this, the problem is best viewed in terms of what is closest to what we are familiar with. So I think we have to start by looking at how our own thoughts, actions, and bodies exist.”
A Brief History of the Japanese Anarchist Movement (Excerpts from Equality 1–2)
From Equality 1:
Although there have been various peasant riots in Japan that were close to anarchism in the past, let us ignore them for the moment and understand that the modern anarchist movement began with the movement of Kotoku Shusui and others, the so-called Great Rebellion, that is, the assassination of Meiji. After it was revealed that the emperor’s plan was not carried out, Kotoku and twelve others were sentenced to death and life imprisonment. There were many revolutionaries involved in this incident. Most of the activists at that time were socialists in a broad sense, but Kotoku and his lover, Ms. Sukago, were already clear-cut anarchists. This happened in 1903. After the failure of this incident, Japan’s socialism fell into silence for several years. Later, Osugi boldly broke through the danger and republished the civilian news published by Kotoku and others, and later changed it to a magazine. At this time, Osugi began to work with the anarchist workers’ groups. Soon, many brave revolutionary young people were recruited into this group, including its authors such as Tatuo Mizunuma, Eiichi Nobushima, Wada Eitaro, and other working youth. Young anarchists such as Taiji Yamaga, Wada Kyutaro, and Kondo Kenji have played a great role in the anarchist movement in Japan. In addition, older anarchists such as Iwasa Sakutaro, who has lived in the United States for several years and personally participated in the American IWW movement, and Ishikawa Sanshiro, who has lived in Europe for a long time have great power in propaganda.
In the ten years since the incident, Japan’s social movement has not actually developed much. We can say that this period is a period of propaganda and preparation, because the beginning was due to the strong oppression of the government due to the German incident. , followed by the European War. Most of the Japanese people were confused by patriotic ideas and did not look back at their own internal life. Moreover, during the European War, the industries of various European countries were at a standstill. Japanese capitalists took advantage of this to do their speculative business. In particular, Japan’s economic situation was relatively good. Therefore, the Japanese working class did not feel strong oppression in life. It was not until the end of the European War in 1917 that European industry gradually recovered, and Japanese commerce as a result declined. At this time, the unemployment problem intensified and expanded abnormally. With the influence of the Russian Revolution, the resistance movement of Japan’s working class suddenly became very prosperous. In 1919, workers in Tokyo, Japan held the first May Day demonstration. At that time, the conflict between workers and the police was very fierce. The speeches of socialists and anarchists filled the city of Tokyo. The number of strikes increased abnormally in the next two years. Even ordinary scholars remember that the socialist movement in that year was also very. The situation was so intense that many young people gave up their studies and devoted themselves to social movements. At this time, there were anarchist groups such as the labor movement club with Osugi as the center, and the labor union organized by the working youth. There were small works in the peasant movement. There were also many ideological examples in the Human Society. At this time, anarchist publications included “Labor Movement”, “Laborers”, “Small Worker”, etc., and there were many socialist lectures and research conferences. On the 251st of the following year, workers’ demonstrations became even more intense. Clashes between workers and the police filled the entire city of Tokyo. At the same time, demonstrations in Osaka, Japan’s only industrial city, and other cities also became more intense. It was the era of the highest socialism in Japan. At that time, labor groups in Japan could be roughly divided into those affiliated with the Japan Labor and Welfare Federation and those not affiliated with the Federation. Among the cadres of his alliance, most of them are British-style labor unionists, and among them are some communists who are well connected with the Russian Red International. In addition, the Anarchist Union is a group that is seeking to join the federation.
By November 1922, the labor unions all over Japan held a meeting in Osaka to organize the labor unions all over Japan, but they finally broke up. The dispute at this conference was the dispute between contractualism, that is, statism, centered on the Japan Federation of Labor, and anarchism, centered on the Anarchism Union. The two always break up after failing to find common ground. This break should be noted in the history of the Japanese labor movement and even the history of social movements. This break may be a great blessing to the Japanese labor liberation movement. From then on, the movements of their various factions took a clear-cut stand and started their own movements, without the previous color of give-and-take and compromise. This was indeed a great progress in the history of Japanese social movements..
At that time, the French Anarchist Federation initiated the International Anarchist Congress. Osugi secretly escaped from the country and came to France as a Japanese anarchist. After arriving in France, the International Congress moved to Berlin for the meeting. and postponed. In the midst of this, Osugi was arrested by the government for breaking the law by speaking to workers and was escorted back to his country. This happened in May 1923. In July of that year, Osugi returned to Japan. In August, Chinese anarchists also held a large meeting in Beijing. But soon a great disaster befell Japan. On September 1st of that year, Tokyo, Japan, encountered an unprecedented earthquake. The earthquake was followed by huge fires, and the city of Tokyo was almost completely destroyed. The area with the largest number of factories and workers was the center of the disaster. In the midst of this heavenly disaster, Japanese royalists and soldiers, on the one hand, because of the government’s suspicion and fear, and on the other hand, the murderous impulse aroused by the cruel phenomenon, started the so-called “vigilante group” murder tragedy. They took the hint from the government and joined forces with the military and police to seize this opportunity to imprison the Korean people who were oppressed by the socialists and the Japanese. The victims of this brutal massacre included dozens of socialists and anarchists, more than thousands of Japanese and Chinese workers, and more than 2,000 Koreans living in Tokyo. On September 16, Osugi, his lover Noe, and his seven-year-old nephew were arrested by the military police on the way and hanged by the military police. It took a few days for this kind of news to be revealed to the general public. The general workers were very angry. The government had no choice but to appoint the then commander of martial law, and arrested Captain Masahiko Amakasu and handed him to the court. This ended the tragedy of murder. After that, the general Ogawa schools and the government devoted all their efforts to advocating reactionary ideas, so Japan even entered a reactionary period. Generally, right-leaning labor groups are almost suspending their movement, and communists are also calling for a change of direction and a parliamentary movement. The government’s policy at this time was to specifically ban anarchists and adopt a bribery policy towards other groups.
The most obvious movement that arose in the future was that of the proletarian party. At this time, the anarchists were under strong oppression from the government, and at the same time they were fighting against all labor groups that supported the political movement. In addition, many powerful comrades were lost during the earthquake. For the anarchists of this period, there was only death. The general anarchist intellectual class has many hidden ideas, which makes the situation of the youth anarchist labor movement even worse. When Osugi’s funeral was held, there was a serious provincial meeting among Japan’s leading anarchists. They passed several very simple resolutions. The first was to relax theoretical propaganda and focus on practical activities. The second was to annihilate the enemies who killed Osugi and most of the socialists and anarchists in the Kanto Massacre, following the earthquake. The third was to publish The complete works of Osugi.
From Equality 2:
Regarding the first task, on the one hand, they are working hard to develop anarcho-communism, and on the other hand, they are able to take direct actions as individuals and as a cabinet. At this time, other labor groups, democratic groups and ideological groups in Hubei were dreaming of industrial and political bureaucracy. At this time, the Japan Federation of Labor Federation had an internal split, and some communists came to micro-self-revolution. In addition, a more powerful right-wing group, the Japanese Peasants’ Association, and even the right-wing groups within the Machinery Workers’ Association emerged. They wanted to unite and form a unified Japanese proletarian party. They almost completely forgot about the work of the class war and turned to politics. But their movement, like the political movement of property, had a lot of power-fighting phenomena, so they spent two or three years cultivating the elite but without success. The anarcho-syndicalists among them, still brave enough, pretended to slip into battle with their enemies. Their ability to work and direct operations occurred almost every day, and at most there were more than twenty strikes and negotiations in a week. On the one hand, the various ugliness performed by the political movements of right-wing groups has made ordinary working people angry and disgusted. As a result, many workers belonging to right-wing groups broke away from other cadres and cooperated with the leftist unionists. At this time, most of Japan’s labor groups were disappointed with the proletarian movement and turned to the union movement. In addition to the weakened alliances and councils, the sponsors are a group of far-left groups, united under the name of the Japan Federation of Labor. On the one hand, they are called the ultra-left anarchist group, That is, the Free Unionists also formed the National Federation, the Japanese Federation of Labor. In March 1926, the Japanese National Printing Workers Conference resolved to promote national unity of anarcho-syndicalist support groups, which immediately won the approval of the thirteen local groups, and the Local Federation of Free Labor Associations was first established. The following year, it was combined with other groups as advocated by Osaka, Hiroshima, Okayama and other places. On May 24 of the same year, the full freedom of labor unions was opened. The first meeting of the Union was held in Tokyo. There were more than thirty groups participating in this event, and they made extremely quick decisions, organizational methods and programs. They fully adopted anarcho-syndicalism, free association and decentralization. They were jointly established across the country and four local federations were established at the same time, and became an integration of the same industry group. They marked the clear principles of anarcho-syndicalism:
We regard class struggle as the fundamental principle of the liberation movement of workers and farmers;
We reject all political movements and advocate economic equality;
We advocate industry-specific free associationism and oppose statism;
We oppose imperialist aggression and flaunt the international solidarity of the working class.
In this way they completed the national union of the anarcho-syndicalist labor unions. The national federation includes four local federations, ten industries, and twenty-eight industrial groups, including farmers’ groups with about one-hundred thousand members. They issued a monthly magazine “Free Association” which is published every month to this day.
The establishment of this national alliance opened a new era for the anarcho-syndicalist movement in Japan. The right-wing political party movement that surrounded the workers completely failed. Although it was disbanded twice, it had to overcome the siege and established the so-called Workers’ Party. In fact, it was just an organ for the government to bribe the working class. Except for the public status of the Labor Front Alliance, which voluntarily withdrew, and the Labor-Teacher Association Council, which was expelled due to the government’s displeasure, the only remaining organizations are the government’s official organizations. Under this situation, the general alliance and councils that belong to the proletarian parties and those that do not belong to the proletarian parties are all shrinking. The power of the liberal coalition has increased dramatically. Now in the Kanto region of Japan, It has gained the most powerful position, and in the Kansai area, there is also a situation of confrontation with other groups.
The above is the recent status of the activities of anarcho-syndicalist leaders in Japan. Speaking of their second goal, the revenge movement, this movement is naturally the action of a small number of voluntary individuals. But this movement also gave a strong influence to the Japanese anarchist movement. When Osugi and others were killed, comrades Genjiro Muraki and Wada Kyutaro, who had been involved for a long time with Osugi, secretly plotted revenge. They prepared to assassinate General Fukuda, the mastermind of the earthquake-related murders, and Masaki, the chief of the police station. Song Dalang. Genjiro Muraki and Shusui Kotoku were old comrades who started the movement at the same time. Wada was one of the most diligent and enthusiastic young comrades. In the middle of their plan, they organized a meal at the Guillotine Club in Osaka. Daiji Furuta raised sports funds. After killing a banker in Osaka City, Tetsu Nakahama was soon accused by the police. Furuta fled to Goryeo and conspired with Comrade Goryeo to obtain weapons and destroy the Osaka Police Station. After Furuta returned to Japan, he merged with Muraki and Wada Eitaro to plan the money. At this time, the comrades participating in the plan were Keiji Kurachi and Ichiro Shintani. Furuta and Kurachi first went to Hiroshima Prefecture to be regarded as gunpowder factory workers. They obtained mercury from the factory, returned to Tokyo, and secretly made bombs. When their mysterious work was about to succeed, they prepared to destroy the prison while planning to snipe General Fukuda. Wada and Furuta entered Fukada’s residence several times in the hope of success. Later, they got an opportunity. Fukada was at a military lecture. Each had a weapon and guarded what he had to pass. After three locations, the murderer finally met Wada. Wada fired at him with a pistol, but missed, and the second shot failed due to the inconvenience of the pistol. Although the third shot hit Fukuda, he was only slightly injured, and Comrade Wada was arrested. Comrades Muraki and Furuta continued their plan and planned to destroy the police station. Gutian broke into the police station and placed a bomb in the room, but it was not discovered before it exploded, so the purpose of destruction was not achieved. After that, they mailed bombs to the general’s old home. When his daughter opened the bomb, he was out, so only one of his houses was damaged, but Gutian had to escape. From then on, their long-term efforts failed. Soon their secret manufacturing factory was also discovered, and five people were arrested one after another.
Genjiro Muraki, who was in weak health, actually suffered from aggravated lung disease due to failure and mistreatment in prison. He died the day before he left the camp and was moved back to the labor movement club, the headquarters of his comrades, and died the next day. At the same time, another comrade who had been involved in the peasant movement for a long time, Goto Kentaro, went crazy and committed suicide in prison. In addition, four comrades, Wada, Furuta, and Kurachi, were in court in June 1925. Both Wada and Furuta gave moving speeches in court. There was a passage in Mr. Wada’s speech that said: “My actions this time have nothing to do with my ideology. I saw with my own eyes the tragedy of government killings during the earthquake. I once saw the tragic sight of seven comrades with their heads dismembered. The innocent workers of Korea and China were killed, and the Osugi couple and their young nephew were killed by you, and the perpetrators of the killings were let go easily. I had to take this act of revenge. I broke the law of the country, and I broke it knowingly.” This passage clearly shows the spirit of their action. On September 10th of that year, Daijiro Furuta was sentenced to death, Wada was sentenced to life imprisonment and Kurachi was sentenced to twelve years in prison. On September 14th, Mr. Gutian bravely went to the gallows. The other three comrades are still living in the Agricultural Bank of China prison. Tetsu Nakahama was sentenced to death in June 1926.
In short, these three years were a period of bloody struggle between the Japanese government and the anarchists. More than ten comrades were killed. But the anarchist movement became more and more prosperous because of it. Until recently, they were engaged in a bloody battle between workers. On the one hand, the anarchist organization movement was also very advanced. In January 1926, it completely became the Japanese Anarchist Federation.
The collective group Black Youth League. Among the participants were seven trade unions and eighteen social movement anarchist unions. After their establishment, they held a grand lecture to criticize the deception of the proletarian party. The lecture was very successful. After the meeting, dozens of audience members, anonymous anarchist youths, impulsively united and walked to the end of Tokyo. They destroyed more than twenty capitalist shops on the beautiful Ginza street. This is the first popular uprising in Japan recently. Recently, there was a workers’ lockout strike, which was extended for more than a month. There were many direct actions by anarchists during it. Recently, more than ten anarchist youths carried out direct actions against a capitalist in order to aid a worker’s strike. The action destroyed his house, and finally the capitalist succumbed to the workers. Under the situation of people fleeing, Japan’s anarchist movement developed to a degree that is almost beyond our imagination. There are others. Many members of the intelligentsia, who previously only sympathized with anarchism, now take an obvious stance in participating in the actual movement. The peasant movement also created a new situation. The Peasants’ Autonomous Association, organized by anarchists, is also very active. Nowadays, parades, speeches and seminars on various topics are held continuously. We can believe that Japanese anarchism has reached a strong foundation, and it will definitely be able to dismantle all hierarchies!
A Brief Introduction to Anarchism (excerpts from Anarcho-Communist Monthly 1–7)
From Anarcho-Communist Monthly 1:
What kind of thing is the government? What benefits does it have to us humans? We eat when we are hungry, clothe ourselves when we are cold, we can plow and weave to feed ourselves, we can build houses to make ourselves safe, and we can invent science to enhance the happiness of society. It does not depend on the government’s instructions, nor does it need the teachings of politicians. The government itself has set up various laws and regulations to ensnare our people. No one can escape from this trap with a raise of their hands or a cast of their feet. And all freedom of mind is lost. Human beings in the world are all brothers. Our workers love each other instinctively. The government promotes the theory of patriotism, coaches an army that commits murder, and takes it as its daily duty to invade the human country. Therefore, the compatriots in the universe are enemies of each other, and the world of peace Loss is the result of the government: depriving freedom is a poison that disturbs the peace of the world.
How does the government originate? It originates from power. In the barbaric world, one or two strong men conquered their own tribes, called them existing tribes, enslaved the conquered people, and expelled their people to fight with other tribes. They became enemies of each other. This is the origin of this country and the origin of the government. Thinking about it now, it has been worthless for a long time. At that time, animal nature was not gone, so it is no wonder that it was like this, but now it has passed from the realm of beasts and entered the realm of humans. How can it be peaceful to leave this product of the beast’s realm in the human realm of broad daylight?
Politicians defended this by saying: The role of the government is to protect the people from foreign aggression and disputes, rather than to bully others. In this day and age, no government will bully others. How can there be such a thing as foreign aggression? The government must be meant to bully others. Human things can then be decorated in vain by the theory of injury. Let’s talk about resisting insults: when two parties compete, there will be victory or defeat. Will the winner be able to resist foreign aggression and have a good government? Whoever can win in northern Sichuan must be able to bully others. The so-called great powers in this world are all like this. As for the people’s disputes, they are beyond the control of the government. The laws enforced by the government only record the inherent customs of society. (This is what Kropotkin, the great anarchist in modern times, said) If the habit is respected and maintained, then there will be nothing to fight for. If there is a fight, what can be overcome with its inherent habits? The source of the fight. It is true that there is a difference, but I do not know its origin and want to control the beast, but I do not see the government’s ability to do so.
The evils of governments in today’s world have become obvious. People in Europe and the United States have gradually realized the uselessness of governments and are tired of them. The invention of anarchism is like the rising sun in the sky, and a world without government is not difficult to realize.
When people in the world hear those who talk about anarchy, they often have several questions in their minds at the same time. Now we have to answer their doubts: The doubters say: without government, there is no law, and without law, order will be destroyed and chaos will result. The explanation is: Law cannot stop social disturbance. Disturbance arises from disputes, from people to disputes, from poor social organization, and is beyond the control of the law. Looking at urban areas, the laws are the strictest, but there are the most lawsuits and criminals; in rural areas, laws are often beyond the reach of laws, but there are very few lawsuits and criminals. This is clear evidence that this law is not beneficial to society. In life, one must seek to satisfy the desires of life. The desire for life lies in food, clothing, and shelter, and clothing, food, and shelter depend on products. Products are produced by the land and made by human effort. Therefore, given the correct principle, anyone who can contribute effort to produce can certainly satisfy his desire for life. But this is not the case. The private property system of society has been established, and those with money can obtain the highest life, without having to be those who contribute to production. People see that money is omnipotent, so they treat each other with respect and money is a competition. There’s a lot of noise, there’s nothing to eat, there’s no way to get out of here.
From Anarcho-Communist Monthly 2:
People see that money is omnipotent, so they are in harmony with each other and money is a source of competition. There is a lot of noise and chaos, but there is no way to escape here. Get it by fighting for it, train arrogance and extravagance, regard the same kind as cattle and horses, the weak ones turn to the ditch, the cunning ones are used to deceit, the cunning ones sell their girls, (servants and concubines) work hard, (mercenaries and cart drivers) are pure skin and flesh, (prostitutes) think Living a rough life, his powerful drama took risks, took robbery as his livelihood, and regarded killing as child’s play, which led to today’s tragic, dark, sinful and dangerous behavior. Investigating the reason, could it be that the private property system is a class, and even though there are laws, everything is enough to make peace? If there is no government, the private property system will be destroyed and communism will be implemented. Everyone will do their best and get what they need, and the rich and poor will be equal. The competition for money has ceased, life at this time, would have equality, freedom of work, and a competitive society have all changed into cooperative love. Since there is no competition, why worry about disturbing it?
Perhaps the father says that people have different levels of education and education is not universal. Once there is no government and there are only a few people who know the truth, there will be people who take the evil habits of the old society and regard them as disorderly behavior. This is the most common argument used by those who oppose the radicals. Even those who envy anarchists today often have this mentality, thinking that education must be popularized before no government can be implemented, so they dare not advocate for haste and comparison. I don’t know that the bad morals of human beings are due to the bad society; the bad society is due to the government. If all evil governments are gone, human morality will immediately return to purity and beauty, and there is no need to wait for long-term and profound education. How can we say this? Robbery and robbery are the so-called immoral acts in this world: this is what we do.
However, the source of theft is poverty, and people are poor because of the monopoly property of the rich. The reason why the rich can monopolize the world’s public property and the poor dare not monopolize it is because there are government laws to protect it. If there is no government, the private property system will be abolished at the same time. The products of the world will be shared by all the people in the world. There will be no classes of rich and poor. Robbery and robbery will naturally disappear from the world. Murderers are the so-called immoral people in this world. The behavior is also. However, the reason for killing people is that they are fighting for money, otherwise they are lustful. The dispute over wealth is due to the private property system in which property is privately owned, and the dispute over sex is due to the marriage system in which women are privately owned. The reason why the two exist is simply based on the laws of the government. (So-called civil law) If there is no government, private property will be extinct, marriage will be abolished, wealth and sex will not be disputed, and murder will disappear from society.
From Anarcho-Communist Monthly 3:
If a father is selfish and does not care about the common good, he is committing the most common immoral behavior in the world. But in the future, there will be no government, no private property, no family, society will be the direct unity of individuals, and individuals will be simple members of society. Everyone will work hard for their own purposes, and the happiness they will get will be (that is, the food, clothing, housing, transportation, etc. obtained through work) etc.) shared and enjoyed with others, and nothing they did was not for themselves, and nothing was not for others. At this time, there is no public or private matter at all, that is, private interests are nothing but public interests, so there is no public morality for private interests. Everyone is ready. All the other kinds of evils that are today called small morals and so on, if you look at the reasons for them, they must be caused by the bad society, not the sins of the people. The reason for anarchy is to reform this bad society and eradicate the roots of today’s so-called evil and immorality. As for the truth of anarchy, it is not easy for stupid people to understand it. This is the responsibility of the ruling class. However, if you can use various methods to convey the goodness of anarchy to the public and make it known to every household, then naturally No resistance. And this matter is not very difficult, because from today to anarchy, it will take a lot of time and energy to engage in the dissemination and advocacy of doctrine. When the propaganda is conveyed, people will know the truth of anarchy. When the people who know the truth gradually come together and overthrow the government, even if there are a few people who know the truth, it will not be difficult for people to understand the truth without a government. For this kind of truth, there is no profound and mysterious thing that everyone can do. Knowing, everyone can do it. The most important motto is “To each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”. It is easy to know and not difficult to practice. Those who steal or have one or two fierce and fierce people who deliberately seek to be enemies and dare to undermine justice are said to violate human nature and become public enemies of the society. Everyone will denounce them. If you can overthrow a powerful government, how can you just stay here and not go away? Therefore, if you want to implement anarchy today, you can only do your best to convey it. Those who are talented should engage in the task of advocating and implementing it. Those who are not talented should also believe in it first. In fact, everyone who knows that there is a term for system house should pay attention to it today. There is no need to sit back and hope for the universalization of education. The reason why education cannot be universalized today is due to low economic equality, economic inequality, and the government’s protection of private property. Therefore, in a world with a government, there is absolutely no reason to popularize education. (European countries claim to have popularized education, but in fact they are still popularizing education for the rich.) Moreover, government education is generally contrary to the principles of free education. Generally, blind doctrines such as nationalism and militarism are entrenched in the hearts of the people, which is really nothing. Enemies of the government. Therefore, saying that there can be no government after universal education is the same as saying that there can be no government after all the stars on the earth are destroyed.
From Anarcho-Communist Monthly 4:
It is said that people like leisure and hate work. It is human nature and in a communist society, everyone covers what they can and everyone gets what they need. Suppose there are many people who like leisure and happiness, but they only get what they need but not what they can do. What will happen? How should we respond? Said: “It is the nature of people to like leisure and dislike work.” This statement covers the whole story. Otherwise, after a long time in the house, ordinary people want to walk around, sit hard on the mat and feel tired. That is to say, there is no other way to think about movement. People’s ears, eyes, mind, limbs, and every body part all have the instinct to move. Therefore, they cannot do nothing, and there is no need for humans to build mountains. Moreover, humans have entered the human realm from the realm of beasts. The most obvious difference is that they have two hands. The presence of hands in humans indicates their innate ability to work, so “it is human nature to be active”, it can be concluded that there is a reason why people like to enjoy leisure and hate hard work up to now!
The private property system is also a subjugation of class. Now that the system of private property is in place, the difference between the rich and the poor is growing. The power of money is growing, the rich drive the common people like cattle and horses, there are hundreds of jobs in society that are indispensable for human life. (such as farmers, workers, etc.) The rich do not have to do it themselves, but the poor have to do it alone. The rich enjoy leisure and glory, while the poor are humiliated by hard work. Unknowingly, this has created a social mentality that prefers leisure and hates work. (In fact, he loves the rich and hates the poor.) But when it comes to personal affairs, the rich can use money to buy the strength and leg strength of others (such as servants, carriages, sedan bearers, etc.) to replace the natural movements of their limbs and bodies, and add tobacco and alcohol. All kinds of sensual gambling lead a lazy life to amuse the boring time. Doing it for a long time will destroy the spirit and cause physical wear and tear. This is precisely because the human body, brain, and brain are naturally endowed with active instincts that disappear because of it. This is called indolence and indolence. Same as its place. As for the poor, they have toiled all day long, and their blood and sweat for the benefit of society will not be rewarded with silk and hair. Those who plow the fields are hungry, those who weave are stuffed, those who build houses have no tiles, and the cooks who prepare exquisite dishes are white. Everything earned by hard work is a waste. As a result, they are all plundered by the rich. No matter how hard they work, they can only be sacrificed by a few rich and noble people. However, the majority of the compatriots in the society do not share the same. The more diligent and the less happiness they get, the less happiness they get. Disappointment and annoyance are just what human beings should do. They are just like being lazy for a moment, hoping for a moment of boring comfort, which is better than being blindly diligent. Wow, this is not a human sin. In fact, the inequality between the rich and the poor is just for the prostitution of the rich. The consequences of this are the thieves of sin, money, and happiness, and the slow growth of crime. Therefore, no government must oppose private property and replace it with communism. If private property is abolished, there will be no reason for poverty. As for those who are slaves, everyone works hard and does not become accustomed to arrogance and luxury, and is weak and unable to do anything. Moreover, everyone is equal, and there is no distinction between wealth and dignity. Naturally, they ignore the principle of working as a humble servant. Each one has his own profession, combined to form a society of assistance. All work is done to support the life of the whole society, and people are with me in it, rather than just for the sacrifice of a few people. The more diligent you are, the more abundant the production will be, and the greater the happiness of the society. That is to say, the greater the happiness, I don’t believe that there are people who enjoy leisure and hate work at this time.
From Anarcho-Communist Monthly 5 & 6:
The working hours of the people range from eight to twelve hours a day. They work too much and the excessive labor is harmful to their physiology. Although there are machines that can save labor, the rich are unwilling to spend money to buy equipment to save labor. If there is no relationship between money and trade in the world of human beings, all kinds of work can be mechanized. As long as people perform their functions, no matter how skilled they are and how hard they work, they will not become leisure pursuits, that is, they will not. It is possible to get what Kropotkin called the filthy pit and make it as beautiful as the experimental knowledge of the university. Since there is no new money for capitalists, naturally everything can use the results of science. And the so-called happiness of civilization , it is not the exclusive product of the rich. Labor is saved at the same time as time, and there is no need to worry about hardship. There is only joy. If you look at today’s world, the rich are happy and do nothing to produce. Most of the officials and merchants buy navy, army, lawyers, police, slaves, prostitutes, thieves, gangsters, beggars, gangsters, and half of all women in the world (all the above-mentioned people who are not beneficial to social life are collectively called wandering minds), are all provided food, clothing, and shelter by the farmers and workers. Among the workers, part of them is consumed in useless things, so that one person can support three or four people. (It is difficult to accurately estimate the statistics of human occupations in the world.) However, the number of vagrants mentioned above must be three or four times that of farmers and workers. On average, one person can fulfill the promise of three or four people, and one person can obey three or four people. This makes most people see farmers and workers as subordinates, and regard them as slow labor. The happiness gained by farmers and workers is not as good as all kinds of leisurely pursuits. It’s an unfair society.)How can you get something without working?
If at that time everyone was working, suffering and happiness were equal, using machines for various tasks, and there was no wear and tear on battleships, forts, ordnance, etc. and everyone was engaged in the legitimate work of life, the expansion of property at that time would be incredible. According to the statistical calculation results of a certain French anarchist, it is said that each person can work two hours a day to meet the needs of society. Today, it is assumed that it is doubled, and each person works four hours a day. Working for four hours, the time is short, it is easy, and the pain of labor will turn into the joy of entertainment. Today’s people have no leisure and entertainment. Even leisure activities such as traveling, games, gymnastics and other pastimes are enough. However, working for several hours a day is nothing more than a pastime. Why worry about not being willing to work?
There is also an era of nihilistic government, where human beings have no thoughts and there will be no evolvers in society. Not thinking about evolution is the principle of natural evolution, and upward is the common nature of human beings — there is no reason to retreat but not to advance. The evolution of the world depends entirely on science. People who invent science are willing to compete for their own interests, and they are probably the hearts and ears of good social work and evolution. The reason why science is difficult to achieve is because of private property. People who are not rich cannot obtain the highest education. Once they have obtained it, they have to find food and clothing, so they don’t have much free time, and the help of equipment and experiments cannot be achieved unless they have capital. European and American scientific research societies and scientific inventors are often funded by wealthy people. This science is evidence of the manipulation of money. If communism is practiced, education will be equal, everyone will have scientific knowledge, and so-called inventions will not be exclusive to a few people. If you know what you are doing every day, you will have more time for research, and everyone will have access to experimental instruments. At this time, anyone with a profound mind will be able to concentrate on research, and scientific inventions will be far more advanced than they are today. Individuals are trapped under the private property system and earn money for food and clothing every day, but only a lot of money is enough. They are slightly cautious and open-minded, and cannot change their fortunes. If they lived, in a society of mutual love, their thoughts will be improved by all those who think about society and seek happiness. Why not evolve the world?
From Anarcho-Communist Monthly 7:
In addition, there is a common doubt, that is, if a country has no government, it will be invaded and conquered. People who doubt this are probably accustomed to having a government and superstitiously believe that the government is omnipotent. But they don’t know that the government is also a human being and is not omnipotent. The so-called defense against aggression is nothing but reliance on the army. The army is accustomed to obeying orders and has no independent character. Once it is used to defend against aggression, the people’s willingness to listen to orders must be more important than the willingness to defend, so it is not enough to serve. If the people’s self-defense is purely due to the axiom of ensuring resistance to strong power, they must regard the government’s military as their own, powerful. Looking at the French Revolution in 1793, the civilians resisted the allied forces, and the Spaniards defeated Napoleon the First, all of these were conquered by the people’s most outstanding ability to resist foreign aggression. It can be seen that soldiers who do not need to be trained for a long time to resist aggression, and those who advocate full armament in the name of militarism, are only for the government’s private interests and are not specifically for resisting aggression. It is uneasy but since civilians have the ability to overthrow the government of one country and can defeat the army of one country, they can also defeat the army of other countries. Moreover, there are no political parties and no national boundaries. After overthrowing the government of one country, they will allocate their remaining strength to help the revolution of other countries. To overthrow the governments of other countries, various anarchist parties have been organized. If the government of one country is removed, the anarchist parties in other countries will rise up and attack their governments. At this time, all the so-called governments will not have enough time to take care of themselves, and much less still have the energy to invade the country without a government? Just look at the great master of all wars in the world, and his opponent’s anarchy is terrifying. The Anarchist party can unite the peoples of all nations to form a unified alliance, but the governments of all countries cannot unite in a grand alliance of all nations. This shows that the power of Anarchism is far greater than that of the government, and there is no doubt about it.
The above repeated arguments all prove that anarchism is not only correct in theory and political theory, but also can be implemented. How could anyone who reads this disagree?
The Difference Between Anarchism and Marxism
What is the difference between Anarchism and Marxism? The main thing is: Anarchism is the doctrine of the people, while Marxism is the doctrine of the political party.
Marxism is a party-centered alliance of a small number of people, who decide to lead and direct the struggle, and the party’s power is above all else. Anarchism is centered on the common people, and the revolution is completed by the will and power of the common people. The party only serves as the spokesperson among the common people, the core of the common people, and the pioneer of the common people.
The purpose of Marxism is to overthrow the so-called democratic regime (the regime of the bourgeoisie) and establish the regime of the Marxist Party (the regime of the Communist Party), which is euphemistically called: the dictatorship of the proletariat. Anarchism opposes all attempts to seize power. Political power is a tool for a small number of people to rule the majority. The majority of the Chinese people can never hold political power, and they do not need political power. What the people need is an anarchic, autonomous, and united free communist society. The word “communism” used by the Communist Party is often confused with the “free communism” of anarchy and communism, but in fact the content is completely different. The doctrine of the Communist Party is not “communism”. In fact, it is “collective property”, because it nationalizes all property, land, and factories and puts them under the control of the government, and the government becomes a big capitalist. Today, workers and peasants in various countries are enslaved by individual landlords and capitalists. This is called “wage slavery.” Under the dominance of the Communist Soviet government, farmers became serfs of the government, and workers became labor slaves of the government. Although the government raises the flag of the “proletariat,” it is exactly the opposite of the dictatorship of the proletariat, and it has become a group that dominates and exploits the proletariat. Anarchist Communism is a planning principle that returns all property in society to the common people, and the land to farmers. The villagers’ and peasants’ associations plan production, and the factories belong to the workers. The labor unions organized by the workers plan production, and distribution. The entire production and distribution belongs to the Workers’ and Farmers’ Federation. Everyone works, everyone participates in all life decisions, there is no ruler, everyone freely enjoys the common products, and makes the best use of their talents and abilities.
Nowadays, many people misunderstand that the doctrine of the “Communist Party” is “communism”. This is really a mistake. The Bolshevik wing of the Russian Social Democratic Party changed its name to the “Communist Party”, which confuses the eyes of the common people. “Communist Party” is a sign. He does not advocate communism. He advocates collectivism with state dictatorship. What we anarchists advocate is “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” which is communism.
A government can never be communist,
Anarchy leads to communism.
Equality #1 Selected Articles
Our Manifesto
“Equality, equality!” What a wonderful term! You have been the only ideal in the minds of common people for thousands of years. You are the gospel that many people long to look up to. For you and for your realization, countless of our compatriots have Sacrificing their happiness, their lives and everything, the independence of the United States, the revolutions of France and Russia, these earth-shaking great undertakings, that one was not for you, the blood flowing like a river in the bloody battlefield , the mountains of prison bones piled up, the guillotine, the bloody spots under the noose and the sharp knife, the tears of the prisoners in the corpses, and the cries of hungry women and children in the huts in the next alley, are not for this. you. Over the past many centuries, people have paid such a high price!
However, in fact, today’s society is a very unequal society! A big gap divides mankind into two big classes, the plunderers and the plundered — the haves and the have-nots. Some people’s personal waste every day is enough to feed more than a thousand people, and some people have difficulty getting the necessary food every day. On the one hand, he eats delicacies from the mountains and seas, wears silks and satins, and lives in high-rise buildings. On the other hand, he eats rice with residual soup, wears rags and shoes, and lives in miserable thatched huts. On the one hand, wealth is aspirational, on the other hand, poverty is miserable. On the one hand, many rich people do not work at all, produce nothing, and live only on the income of others. They enjoy all kinds of entertainment, spend a lot of money, hire many servants, occupy many houses, and deprive society of wealth. On the other hand, many poor people go looking for work but cannot find it. Their homes are in need of shelter, they are suffering from the cold and are suffering great hardship. Those who had jobs worked hard to support their families, but because they overworked and ate poorly, they died in their thirties and forties, leaving their wives and children to suffer. How terrifying! But it’s not just that. People of one class hold the power of life and death of people of another class, and can kill, imprison and humiliate people at will, while the other class only has one person and can die.
“I’m dying, freezing to death. All the rights of the common people have been taken away. In the end, you can only mourn your own fate with tears in your eyes. However, those shameless rich people live on your favors. But they are openly drinking wine!” When we read this song that was popular in France in the late 18th century, who can’t help but feel for them? However, the sad thing is that this is exactly for our own. What a portrait!
We have the same body of flesh and blood, and we have the same talent and self-gathering points. We have worked so hard to create the wealth of today’s society, why should we still crawl under the influence of the first class and sink into the sea of poverty?
“Equality, equality,” the loud bell rang from this poor world surrounded by pain, poverty and misery. We no longer want to be oppressed slaves, we no longer want to be weak people living under the influence of the God of Destiny. We know our rights. We are here to demand “equality”. This unfair society should be eliminated, the unfair classes should be eradicated, the institutions where people rule over others, the tools used by the capitalist class to oppress us — government laws, military police, etc. should be overthrown.
What we demand is economic equality, de facto equality, where everyone can enjoy the same happiness and fulfill the same obligations. There are no masters, no slaves, no government, no common people, no bourgeoisie, no proletariat. We must hold the banner and advance towards this free and equal society. Our banner is “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” and the way to achieve this is “revolution”. “With revolution”, our “equality” is no longer a fantasy. With “revolution”, we can break the slave system and become free people, so we are all revolutionary parties.
This small monthly publication with black characters printed on white paper is not our main job, nor is it our only weapon. It is just our cry, our flag, and the sound of a bell that arouses our comrades. Here is an explanation of our propositions, and here is a record of our movement. Some are fierce tides in full swing, while others are bits and pieces of blood and tears. Our conscious comrades who are sinking into the dark world and all those who sympathize with us, please come and unite under the banner of equality! We are willing to launch the cannon as your pioneer!
Is Our Society Such an Unfair One?
Before us, there were tens of millions of people who felt that our society was too unfair and unreasonable. They would raise their throats and shout at their companions, and they would not know that there are tens of millions of people who, in order to demand fairness and freedom, dedicate their heads and blood and tears to mankind and their brothers. . And until now, many people are still fighting and bleeding there. But what about the society we live in now? We see manifestations of the so-called civilized society everywhere. In major cities, we can see tall and majestic buildings, convenient transportation, prosperous commerce, gorgeous hotels, and cultural gathering places. School libraries and museums, entertainment theaters and music halls, and all kinds of entertainment life that don’t work. And in fact we can also see that there are some people who enjoy their contented lives. Some people were walking around full of joy. If you don’t know how to look at the other side, you will definitely not believe that this society is unreasonable. But as long as you are not an idiot, you will never fail to see another aspect of this society, or it can be said that only this opposite aspect is the true face of modern society and everything that makes up modern society. You can see pale-faced beggars on the streets. If you get up early or walk to a factory-lined area, you will definitely see male and female workers like insects squirming there for food and clothing. You can walk to the road at dusk. You will definitely see prostitutes wandering around soliciting customers, and so on. If you occasionally walk out of the city, you will see shabby houses and rude farmers, and heavy carriages that make an astonishing noise, like ragged beggars sitting on them. The carriers fetched water from tubes in the deep wells and carried it to the peasant women beside the ugly stove. There was no look of joy on their faces. They had no feminine beauty at all. It was a stone on their bodies. Only coarseness and stupidity can be found. Their children cannot even be counted; they cannot dream of the upbringing and play of the children of the rich. Such people actually constitute one-tenth of the human race. This is still the case in civilized countries.If you pay attention to the societies of so-called “inferior countries” and “inferior nations”, you can see everything that is more cruel and inhumane. In short, before our eyes and in our ears, we are surrounded by extreme disharmony and extreme unfairness. Of the more than 200 million human beings in the world, at least 190 million are slaves, oppressed, and plundered. They have no right to enjoy the natural endowments, they have no right to maintain and expand their lives, they were sentenced to life imprisonment the day they were not even born, and they said you are a slave. In such a society and such a world, most people believe in God and believe in God. They think that being born in the world is punished by God. There are also some philosophers and poets who are skeptical and pessimistic. They want to solve the problem of why humans should be born in the world. Regarding the issue, there are also some scholars who advocate personal upbringing. They encourage people to get rich and become officials. They believe that if you don’t want to be a slave, you should work hard to be a master. There are also some politicians who are superstitious about the state and the law. They say humans are born sinful. Therefore, we can only guide their lives to be good gradually under the rule and the law.
But what a deception this is! All the above and so on are to maintain this unfairness and maintain this disharmony. The country, the law, and the disguised scholars and old moralists just want to reconcile this unfairness and injustice, organize it and solidify it, so that it will never change. It is more appropriate to say that they are the protectors of the privileged class, the bourgeoisie. They are the capitalists, bureaucrats, monks, and the nobility rely on these people to maintain themselves. Let us look at the day when the current legal system is not persecuting us working-class civilians? Although we have gradually woken up from this nightmare, and although our pioneers have sacrificed a lot, we must know that our companions , there are still most people doing something there, and most people are still there to protect the country, make money-making machinery for the capitalists, and make luxury goods for the privileged class. There are also many people who are making weapons to kill people there, and people are being led to war in the field to kill each other.
Friends! Our current society continues to be unfair and unharmonious! How many benefits has modern scientific civilization given us? The only ones enjoying modern civilization are the beasts and the murderous class. We should wake up. If we still think that we are human beings and that we are human beings born in nature, we should stand up and take back our rights as human beings. If we are creatures of nature, we should enjoy the products of nature as much as possible. If we are humans, we should try our best to enjoy the wealth created by humans. Why do we give up our rights? Why do we let the minority murderous class monopolize it? Why do we still work like horses for their private property and private interests?
Friends! If we are not idiots, we should wake up and unite. Friends who are standing in this disadvantageous position! Leave the shackles and everything we have and fight against the cruel beasts! We don’t need to be timid, we have everything around us. We are the masters of all production of weapons. Why don’t we use this weapon and unleash it on the enemy? Why don’t we rise up and manage our production institutions? As long as we realize our status and see our enemies clearly, our world will immediately change according to our wishes. We work for our brothers and we come to share. Is this a fantasy? If someone says this is a fantasy, he is saying that he is cowardly. Now, who is willing to be an eternal slave! We should all despise it.
Equality
There are so many injustices in this society! On the one hand, there is prosperity and luxury, on the other hand, there is poverty and misery. On the one hand, there is wanton waste, on the other hand, there is hunger and cold. On the one hand, there is hygiene and comfort, on the other hand, there is death from disease. On the one hand, there is idleness, on the other hand, there is hard work throughout life. On the one hand there are high-rise buildings, on the other hand is a humble hut. On the one hand there is knowledge, science, art and civilization, on the other hand, there are people that are stupid, rude and uneducated. On the one hand there are capitalists with tens of millions of dollars and wealthy emperors, on the other hand there is a laborer who would starve if he did not work hard for a day. On one hand, there are bureaucratic military police who kill people and brutally commit crimes; on the other hand, there are civilians who are punished and killed and endure the humiliation and pain. In short, this is a society of thieves. Except for a few people, most of them are exploited. The oppressor, the plundered.
We are all people who have been plundered and oppressed, (at least we are people who express deep sympathy for the proletariat), and we are very angry about the injustice of the current society. We must resist the current society: and work towards the current society by the use of revolution, we must overthrow the old and create a happy and bright new society with complete freedom and true equality.
Don’t say that this is an unrealizable utopia! In less than a few decades since the founding of the First International, the efforts of the working class have gradually expanded. Many people who used to work more than ten hours a day now only work eight hours a day. Hours, wages used to be very pitiful, and now the capitalists have to increase their wages many times. Now the whole world has awakened, and there are tens of millions of organized workers, and workers’ own groups are everywhere. Yes, the workers’ own newspapers and magazines are spreading by the thousands, and the news of strikes and revolts is reported every day to the working class. As long as they continue to work hard and continue to fight together, soon this great world will be “ours”, and it will be “our” future. In society, the following two principles must be implemented:
(1) On the economic front, abolish money, capital, and the wage system, and implement communism based on the principle of “everyone can do what they can, everyone takes what they need.”
(2) In politics, there is no need for police, no executioners, no law, no government. All affairs must be organized by workers.
Groups are directly managed, and based on “small organization, large liaison”, they implement organized and methodical anarchism. Stop saying that this is an unrealizable utopia — because the current society is too bad and too difficult, so no one dares to hope for a good, beautiful and happy society. In fact, as long as you think this doctrine is right and reasonable, That will surely come true one day, because history tells us that truth will always conquer everything.
Come on! The current society is so unfair! All the people who are oppressed and plundered, let’s rise up and overthrow this capital system and powerful organizations! We have been slaves enough, let’s become free people where everyone is equal.
Some News (July)
The “Revolutionary Workers’ Alliance” was established in Guangdong and believes in syndicalism, and some of our comrades also joined it. It is said to have 100,000 members.
Five people including Mizunuma Kuma, a representative of Japan’s Kanto Free Federation of Labor Unions, have arrived in Guangzhou after secretly escaping from the country. Mizunuma is the younger brother of Tatuo Mizunuma, the most famous anarcho-syndicalist in Japan. He was the supervisor of the Institute of Science and Technology at Moscow State University. After returning to Japan, he worked as the editor and publisher of “Black Youth”. Very experienced in the labor movement. Now that he has come to China, how much contribution he can make to the development of the Chinese labor movement.
This magazine received a letter from Comrade Goldman. It is said that after arriving in Canada in October last year, she immediately engaged in speech propaganda and achieved great results. Now she plans to stay for another year to plan a large-scale movement. It is also said that when she gave a speech on the situation in China this month, she was extremely opposed to supporting the national revolution of the bourgeoisie. What she paid most attention to was the now awakened young men and women and ordinary workers.
The Italian comrades in this town regularly hold a banquet at the hotel on the evening of the 8th of this month. At the same time, they support the New York “Road to Freedom” magazine and celebrate the launch of the “Liberation” monthly magazine. (The newspaper is in Italian and is scheduled to be published this month) There will be various entertainments, and all our comrades will participate in the fun.
The third issue of another magazine has been published. This issue is the commemorative issue of Shifu, and contains a detailed biography of Shifu. If you want to know Shifu as a person and understand anarchists, you must read it. We will sell it on our behalf. The combined 45th and 45th issues of this magazine are expected to arrive within the next month of printing.
About this Publication
(1) This publication is co-organized by the Equality Society and our comrades who live in Europe and the United States. In addition to promoting anarchism and recording news about the anarchist movement as the main content, this magazine also pays attention to the situation of Chinese workers in Europe and the United States. Comrades, if you have a message to send to this publication, it is most welcome.
(2) This publication is free. If you want to read it, please inform us of the address and we will send it to you immediately. If there is any change of address, please feel free to inform us.
Equality #2 Selected Articles
Chinese Anarchism and Organizational Issues
Regarding the issue of organization, my opinion is the same as that of all Chinese comrades, anarchy requires organization, and it requires strict organization. In the past, there may have been some comrades who advocated not having organizations, but now almost no one would have such an opinion. Therefore, in the past, most of the anarchists in China were the intellectual class. In countries where China’s progress is relatively slow, they cannot have public events. Therefore, some do not understand the organization at all. Some even say that anarchy means no organization. But later, on the one hand, due to theoretical research, it was known that the society required by anarchism was not unorganized; on the other hand, because past experience proved that development cannot be achieved without organization. Therefore, the most pressing issue among Chinese comrades now is the organizational issue.
We all know that the prophets of anarchism such as Bakunin and Kropotkin were all in favor of organization. Bakunin often spoke of the need to organize groups. Moreover, from the experience of the Russian Revolution and the French Revolution, we know that the proletariat cannot be liberated from the shackles of capitalism without the ability to organize, manage industrial and agricultural distribution of production, etc. Therefore, if we want to seek the liberation of the masses, we must develop the organizational power of the masses. If we want to carry out revolutionary work, we must also develop our own organizational power.
Printing a pamphlet or publishing a journal is what an individual can do, but actual revolutionary work, a planned and strategic social revolution, is not something that can be most effective by relying on an individual’s strength. It had to be accomplished through organized gatherings, and by the organized anarchists.
In the past, some comrades were deeply afraid that strict group organizations could only hinder personal development. This idea was wrong. Group organizations not only cannot hinder individual development, but can actually help them develop. development. The effect of operating as an organization not only benefits from the activity of the individual, but also from the activity of the group, which cannot be achieved by the activities of separate individuals.
Although organization is necessary, the organization of an anarchist party is different from other political parties. It is not a centralized organization. Chinese comrades also understand this very well. The organization sought by the Chinese comrades is based on the principle of free association.
Regarding this organizational law, the comrades refer to the resolutions of the 1918 Ukrainian Anarchist Congress, also in the same year, two of the Russian anarcho-syndicalism resolutions, and resolution of the All-Russian Anarchist Congress of 1919 then written a book “Draft Program of the Anarchy”, first published in Minzhong and other magazines, then printed into a handbook.. In general, most comrades in China agree with his views. The main points of its organizational law: the basic unit of the group is a small group of five or more people organized by comrades in factories, schools and other institutions. These small groups united with small groups in villages and towns to form district alliances, and then the district alliances formed the national alliance. Here I give a very simple organizational method as follows:
(1) Purpose: Anarchism has no hierarchy. It is not bourgeoisie’s utopia, it is the ideology of the proletariat. Therefore, the purpose of the anarchist party is to assist the working class and carry out the revolutionary cause.
(2) Members: Anyone who believes in anarchist communism and is willing to be a spiritual force for the working class can join the organization. However, they must be introduced by one or more organization members and approved by the conference before they can join the organization.
(3) Organization: Those who have more than five comrades in a factory or school can organize small groups. Each small group can jointly form a district alliance, which can then become a provincial alliance and then a national alliance. Each small group elects a secretary to handle affairs, and the term of office is limited. The secretaries of district leagues and provincial league organizations are elected by the plenary session or representative meeting. The secretariat must pay attention to and promote the organization of the working class. If an important issue arises, representatives of each group will convene a meeting to discuss all proceeding matters. The resolutions shall be handed over to the Secretariat for execution. The National Grand Alliance is divided into secretaries, editors, propaganda, workers and peasants, and other departments. Its duties are to operate publishing, newspaper propaganda, convene conferences, and liaise with comrades from various countries. The labor and agriculture department specializes in dealing with the workers and peasants movement.
(4) It is stipulated that organization members should perform all team duties and report their duties to the group. There shall be no shirk for the things delegated by the general assembly. If a member damages the name of the group, fails to fulfill his responsibilities as a member or fails to attend three meetings without reason, he will be warned. If he does not listen, he may be expelled by the general assembly.
Generally speaking, Chinese comrades agree with the above outline. However, the organizational network adopted in various places has changed somewhat due to local conditions, and some are more strict.
From the above description, we can get a glimpse of the opinions of Chinese comrades on organization. If the opinions of comrades across the country can be roughly unanimous, the issue of organization will no longer be a problem, and the period of discussion will enter the period of implementation.
This is a section of a report prepared for the preparatory meeting of the “Anarchist International” (i.e., the International Anarchist Congress). Later, due to complaints that the Congress was oppressed by the French government, many comrades from various countries were deported. This report was not translated and sent, but now I have recorded it and published it in this journal.
People
“You are not a human being!” is a very common people’s saying. Not being a human being, of course, doesn’t mean that you don’t have two hands and a mouth, and it certainly doesn’t mean that you don’t have a human form.
Human beings are born free and equal. But now, some — the majority — have become cattle and horses that are eaten, and some — a very small number of people — have become tigers and wolves that eat and kill. Although the world is huge, how can we find a person, a real person?
As for workers and farmers, we are cattle and horses being driven by people, and sheep being slaughtered by people; we still don’t know how to live human lives. As for those policemen and soldiers, you are the dogs that protect the rich and that protect politicians. You are not human beings and you do not deserve to be human beings.
Try your best to be a human being, comrades! You must understand that because you are kneeling under the rich and powerful, you feel that you are humble and inferior. Now is the time, stand up! Raise your head and neck, straighten your chest, and be a self-respecting, self-loving, courageous, spirited, and courageous person!
We have lived enough of slave life. If we live enough, we would rather die if we are not free. Really, it would be better to die if you can’t be a good person!
As for you, “cannibal beasts”, you always look down on people in a smug, arrogant way, but you are even less worthy of being human, and you are even less human.
·Your champagne, hundreds of bottles of champagne — this is the blood of workers, the birth of children and women! You drink it bottle after bottle!
A plate of yours can save many lives — it is made of the flesh and blood of the oppressed! Although you are chewing it quietly and peacefully, such a gentleman’s mask, it proves that you are more vicious than wolves, and more ferocious than tigers! Really, when I turn on the smell of human flesh, look, isn’t it still bloody?
·You are such cannibals. I pity you and give you a final piece of advice: Stop fighting and trampling on the heads of your fellow humans, and stop taking pleasure in their corpses! Stop being a demon that oppresses people. You are a hungry ghost who robs people! Put down your butcher knife and be a human being!
I’m dreaming! How can a hungry tiger and a ferocious tiger become a human? Please continue to eat people and kill people; but remember: “There are no white-haired robbers.” One day, one day, karma will come for you!
Anarchism, in my opinion, has no other purpose than to enable us to be individuals and to enable everyone to be individuals. Let a person not kneel in front of others and beg like a cow because of hunger. No matter what, you can’t be a superior person, no matter what, you can’t be a subordinate.
“What a dream!” I see people saying this everywhere. Let’s discuss it! Design it as much as you can! You guys who eat human flesh and drink human blood! You try your best to buy newspapers and scholars, try your best to propagandize, and say that anarchy and communism are always utopias. This is true in the past world and in the current world. This will always be the case. If it’s not enough, you still have thousands of cages, swords for hands, knives and guns for police dogs, and machine guns for soldiers. Do your best to oppress! Do your best to kill! But you must understand that no one will be afraid of you, because you are just a relic of the “past”, and the “future” has already sentenced you to death.
“Everyone should do what they can, everyone should get what they need, everyone is equal, everyone is free. Although the ideal is good, it is a pity! I’m afraid it can’t be done!” What a miserable and pitiful voice this is, the cry of slaves!
Those privileged classes tell you every day that this is a good ideal but cannot be realized. “You’re used to hearing it, and you actually believe it.” Slaves, you have been deceived and fooled. Don’t you understand now?
“All good ideals can be realized.” This is a true truth, don’t forget it. Wasn’t the airplane fifty years ago a good idea that “cannot control the present”? What is it like now? More than a hundred years ago Motors, your words, etc., aren’t they all “unrealizable” fantasies? What about now? Wasn’t the “national journey” twenty years ago also a good idea that “cannot be realized”? What about now? There are tens of millions of such examples, but I don’t need to give them more. People with money and power are unwilling to believe and instead oppress, the people who made the plunder should have believed it a long time ago.
When a person is born, there is no such thing as superiority or inferiority, high or low, rich or poor, or wisdom and salvation. All kinds of injustices, all kinds of classes, all kinds of evils, all kinds of systems are all made by human power. Since human power can do it, why can’t it be destroyed by human power? We are not human beings. Anyone who has blood and courage, people! If we don’t eat people, we will be eaten by others. If we don’t kill people, we will be killed by others. But we have lived enough, we have really lived enough of this inhuman life! Let’s all get up and work together to destroy this evil and miserable world and create a human society!
There are no officials and no people, no gentlemen and no villains, no masters and no slaves, no sages and no stupid people. You don’t despise me and I don’t flatter you. No one is willing to be oppressed by others and no one wants to go. Once the oppressor reaches that time, we can finally leave the dangerous, terrible, miserable and dark hell, come to the world of light, and shout: Now I’m a human!
Some News (August)
The Italian comrades in this town held a banquet on the evening of the 8th of the previous month, which was recorded in the last issue of this magazine. There were comrades from seven or eight countries attending the meeting that evening, numbering in the hundreds. Most of our comrades also participated. The meeting was held at eight o’clock in the evening. During the banquet, the secretary announced the purpose of the banquet and read out a congratulatory speech. There was thunderous applause. We invited various comrades to give speeches, and finally raised funds for the bi-monthly publications of “Liberation” and “The Road to Freedom”. It was already half past eleven when the meeting ended.
Comrade Shuyao has been working recently. In his spare time, he devotes himself to propaganda work. Every Sunday, he went to the overseas Chinese districts in nearby towns to hold open-air lectures, and distributed this magazine. Every time he read it, the audience was very crowded, and many expressed sympathy for our humanism.
Equality #5 Selected Articles
Some News (November)
The city’s Jewish, Russian, Italian, and Chinese anarchist comrades held a picnic meeting on the 23rd of last month in this city. There were a large number of gays and lesbians attending the meeting that day. In addition to speeches, there were also music and ball games to add to the fun. It was also suggested by a Russian comrade that the four groups should unite in the future and hold a regular meeting every Saturday night to facilitate communication. Once approved by all, it will be implemented on the last Saturday night of last month.
On the evening of the 11th of this month, various worker groups in this city jointly held a commemorative meeting to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the martyrdom of Chicago. It was the evening when many famous speakers gave speeches. The venue address is as follows:
Labor Lyceum, 1740 O’Farrell St.
Some other magazines have been mailed. One costs 2 cents per volume, and the other costs 7 cents per volume, which are sold by our organization.
Equality #12 Selected Articles
What Should We Do Now?
“Fighting for anarchy is the most beautiful way to live life.”
If you blame me for not replying to your letter for a long time, you should know that it’s not because I can’t answer the questions you asked. My silence proves that I want to give you a more important answer. Moreover, in this reactionary period, in a still painful life, with a painful heart, I suppressed the rushing tide, and observed and thought with a calm mind, there is nothing in common with what I have experienced in the past few years. Where the beliefs conflict, I will stay true. I will not be like those people who defect midway, discover a new path, go against their true beliefs, and do things they oppose in order to survive in society, but I am in this era. In the process of moving forward, I realized that the truth I knew was good, and the path I took was endless. If I could die a hundred times and be resurrected a hundred times, I would still walk on the path I am on now, and I would still be a revolutionary anarchist. Since I would still distinguish my thoughts and actions in this way, After some evaluation, I understand that I will not deceive myself, I will not sell my faith, and I will continue to live in this turbulent society without tarnishing my beloved. Ideally, then I feel that I can stand in front of you without any shame, and with comradely sincerity and brotherly friendship, I can sincerely tell you what I really feel and want to say.
“What should we do now?” You asked. In your question, I can see your recent depression and your recent negativity. I know that you are tired of years of hard struggle and have begun to doubt your belief in justice and victory. You then asked: “When will this situation end?” Dear comrade, believe me, my firm answer to the first question is: “According to what is required of us to do. Just do it;” As for the second one, “This situation will eventually end.”
“What should we do now?” This question brings us to a big stage in life. We feel that we are standing on the shore of a turbid and clear sea. What other way do we have to go? We can only jump onto the stage and jump into the sea. However, before we jump in, we should observe this stage and the sea with a thorough mind, and then use the determination to remain unchanged even if a mountain collapses in front of us. Engage in it with unyielding perseverance. There we can be sure that our heels will not drift with the world.
Okay, okay, let’s take a look at this stage, this ocean — China’s society. But before we make this observation, I want to tell you: the story of how another generation of young people in another country got the answer to the same question decades ago. This is a bright mirror for us, and we must reflect our own reflection from it.
In fact, Chernyshevsky, the founder of Russian populism, raised such a question in 1863. In the novel “What Is to Be Done?“The answer he gives is the ideal “trinity” of a generation of young people (nihilists) — (1) “freedom of the will” (2) “educated female companions”; (3) “professions suitable for the doctrine.” This ideal was gradually realized.
I am currently writing “The Story of the Russian Revolution” with blood and tears. Regarding this topic, I would like to quote the following words from the seventh chapter of the book I am writing, “Nihilism”:
In short, the fetters of family and customs were broken. Nihilism has triumphed.
“Then what next?” The old nihilist should be satisfied at this point and stop moving forward. There is no answer to this question. One day a young and enthusiastic guest came from here to visit. He asked the nihilist in a warm tone: “Then what will we do in the future?” The old host replied: “I am happy myself.” After hearing this answer, the young guest, full of passion couldn’t help but become angry, and said something more powerful than a sword: “Of course you are happy, and I know that. But if you knew what kind of situation your compatriots in the country were in, how could you still be happy? Are they? They are about to die from conscription, and the government gives away all their money and forces them to beg for a little crust of bread on the street. They complain to others about their pain, but they are unwilling; they complain to heaven, but heaven does not open up. When it’s cold, no one gives it clothes; when it’s hungry, no one gives it food. Life is not ruthless, but in their eyes, it can’t be said to be ruthless. Maybe you don’t know this; otherwise, how could you? What about enjoyment? How can you not do something for them? Didn’t you say a few years ago that you were willing to “struggle for human happiness.”
“The old nihilist and others were unable to answer this young man’s questions, so the old nihilism would go down the road of death. As for that young man, he will leave filled with sorrow and anger. From then on, he will ask himself repeatedly in a disappointed tone: “What should we do?”
But the season has come. The Paris Commune Revolution of 1871 took place. A picture appeared before this young Russian: a big city was revolutionizing a great ideal. This young man used his full spirit to record the earth-shattering drama that was taking place on the banks of the Seine in France. He saw the blood flowing like a flood; he heard the painful cries of women and children who were slaughtered on the road. What did they die for? What did they cry for? What they died for was the liberation of the workers; it was for the great social ideal.
At the same time, he turned back to Russia. It seems like there is a loud voice saying: Turn your light to the field and look at this person. He was a peasant, a free man, for it was said that there were no more slaves in Russia. You see clearly again — the first free man was not working or sowing. He allowed himself to swallow the clouds of earth. Although the land was given to him, he did not have the rakes or hoes to plow the land, nor did he have cattle or horses, so he could not fertilize the land. He had nothing to eat and was so hungry that he had to eat clods of soil. If he did find tree roots in the soil, he would keep them and take them home to his wife and children who were waiting in the shabby house.. Look at the pictures of peasants: their whole lives are filled with sorrow, suffering and abuse. They suffer from hunger and are tired of routine, and they will always be slaves of the privileged class, toiling all day long without rest, comfort, hope and happiness; the government makes them live in a state of ignorance forever, and everyone robs them , trampled on them, and no one threw a stone to save them. ”
Hot tears flowed from the bottom of this young man, and he was in pain in his heart: “If I am really suffering, if I am really crying, it is because of the painful old Russian mother, who is looking at me. The children died of hunger, cold and poverty in the withered arms of the ground. Russia, I mourn you!”
But it was useless to mourn in vain, so the young man could not get up. He now had the answer to the question “What should we do?” The answer he gave was: “To build a peaceful utopia, we have to rely on the power of the sword.” He found the job he should do — to go among the people. He then extended a helping hand to the farmers. He told farmers how to imagine themselves and how to make them happy. For the poor sufferers — the farmers who could only cry bitterly, the young man’s heart burned like a raging fire. A red light appeared on his forehead, and flames burst out of his eyes. He then made a serious vow in his heart: he was willing to sacrifice his life, his energy, and everything he had to liberate the slaves who were serving under the privileged class and being abused by their bosses; he knew what kind of people they were. He shed his life blood so that a son of the privileged class could live a happy life and be able to study in peace to make himself.
So with unyielding determination, the young man threw away the brocade clothes that burned his body and the delicacies that choked his throat. Wearing cherry blossom clothes and peasant wooden shoes, he left his gorgeous family and said goodbye to his dear ones. He embarked on the journey of “going to the people”. There, as a descendant of the aristocracy, he joined the ranks of the peasants and went to remote areas in the mountains or to windy areas by the fields to push horses and share the joys and sorrows with the peasants. In the moments of leisurely smoking, he promoted socialism just for the sake of it. This type of young people were sentenced to death and exile.
After the movement among the people began, it progressed from propaganda to terrorism, to the assassination of the emperor, and to mass riots. The process in between still requires a pen mixed with blood and tears to write down.. A fifteen-year-old British girl said it well: “We must feel how small we are in front of these men and women!” I will not go on to describe it here. However, from the paragraph that has been described, We can also get a training and a dose of stimulants.
The answer that the Russian youth found is the answer that our modern youth should find, “What should we do?” — Struggle for the great ideal of people’s liberation, the Russian youth found their answer in this sentence. The life work of our Chinese youth can only exist in this sentence.
It will soon become the light of day. I saw the fact that light conquered darkness, my heart became stronger, and my faith became firmer! I believe that one day light will rule the world! However, I can no longer write. In a second piece, we will move our gaze from the Russian battlefield in the second half of the nineteenth century to today’s China!
Notice
After our collective was raided, dear readers, you will understand that many of our books were confiscated by the US government. Now that we have been released from prison, the matter is over. Unfortunately, many of our books that were difficult to collect have been lost. Although we are oppressed and imprisoned, and have suffered this setback, we are still determined to work hard on our work as usual, and equality will be more vividly presented to our dear readers.
Equality #16 Selected Articles
Is It Time For Revolution?
Transforming the system requires two conditions to be accomplished. First, the exposure of the flaws of the old system itself. There is no such thing as a completely unflawed system. However, a new system often comes into being to remedy the shortcomings of the flawed system it replaces; so at the beginning, what everyone notices is only its advantages. Its flaws are often revealed only after a long time of implementation. If the flaws are not exposed, it is difficult to arouse many people’s motivation for transformation. Second, it is people’s awareness of transformation. No matter how the flaws of the old system are exposed, if everyone is bound by inertia, overwhelmed by authority, does not recognize the possibility of transformation, and will not have enthusiasm for transformation. and courage, even if the system needs to be reformed on its own, there will not be a very enthusiastic demand for reform and the fact of reform will be formed. This understanding, enthusiasm and courage for transformation are the result of the consciousness of transformation. The above two conditions, the former belongs to our outer appearance, and the latter belongs to our inner heart. When the outer line and the inner line meet, the transformation is almost successful. But the former is often the cause of the latter. If the system has flaws, it may not be possible for everyone to have the consciousness to reform at once, and the consciousness to reform cannot occur without the defects of the system. If the system is really perfect, how can we have the consciousness that it must be reformed?
The voice of the reform of the current social system (a social system based on capitalism) has been shouted out by a few people. But a greater number of people suspect them, fear them and oppose them. Do we have the tendency to revolt? Let me study whether we have the conditions for revolution.
In any society, the proletariat naturally constitutes the largest majority. The life of the vast majority of the proletariat depends on either farming or working. For workers in the countryside, the daily wages are no more than three or four cents in most and only one or two cents in less. Although wages in cities are higher, expenses have also increased. They also have parents and wives. With the current very expensive rice and commodity prices, such a small salary is not enough to support the necessary food expenses for the family, so why bother with other expenses? Therefore, their closest friends are “Hungry” and “Hungry”. Unfortunately, the two brothers of “Resentment” fell ill, and Mr. “Life” wrote a letter of condolence to them again, announcing that he would sever ties with them. As for the people who work in the fields, the result of their hard work all year round is no less than what the landowners and husbands have robbed of their time. If you encounter a good year, you can also ask the old minister to show mercy and charge them less rent, so that you can have a few grains of rice for the New Year. If the years are spent, a year’s hard work has been wasted and nothing has been gained, and the old husband will be insulted by such things as being “lazy” and “too careless”. Therefore, the hardship of the peasants’ life is not that of the workers. In addition to being oppressed by the landlords, they are also oppressed by the army and the military. There are also those who are unemployed and have no qualifications to suffer the suffering of farmers and workers. They only have two ways. One, go to a place where you will starve and freeze to death. Or, steal from the capitalists and be called a thief.
In short, the life of the proletariat is a life of working for others, and the life of the proletariat is a life of no protection. They have freedom, the freedom of hunger and resentment. They also have rights, that is, the right to “not obey”.
What I have said above is not a matter of heated conversation. If a person who does not aim to be blind and blind, whether he is a bureaucrat, a bureaucrat, or a politician, would not dare to deny that there is such a situation in society: if he wants to deny it, he is not a “living person” in society.
Entering a demanding life means knowing without learning and being able without learning. However, the current social system cannot meet this requirement of the majority of people, and it hinders and hinders this requirement. With such benefits and disadvantages, isn’t its flaw not significant? Isn’t it not obvious? So as far as the first condition for transformation is concerned, now,tThe time has indeed come for transformation.
As for the awareness of transformation, in modern times, it is true that there is only a glimmer of hope, but it will not spread among the people. However, the cries of “life is hard” and “life is hard” can be heard everywhere. The proletarians may not be able to see through the fallacy that “richness and poverty are due to fate” that the capitalists tempt them, or they may be afraid of the authority of the capitalists, or they may be limited by class habits, so they often only know how to “complain” without self-consciousness. Knowing that they have the ability and method to “avoid suffering”, they are unable to get on the track of “reforming enlightenment”. However, it is definitely not human nature to complain about suffering without seeking to avoid suffering. Therefore, it is easy to move from “complaining about suffering” to seeking “avoiding suffering”. Now the power of science and unequal theories are more than enough to destroy “destiny” and “class theory”. The power of proletarian unity can eventually defeat the common law of capitalists. It is what the facts in Europe, America and Japan in recent decades tell us, and it is very trustworthy. As long as a few people who are awakened first spread the doctrine and facts of that force to the people, they will eventually develop the enthusiasm and courage to understand and have the “awareness of transformation”. People who previously advocated preparation and determination , in the end, they used various excuses such as “insufficient level” and “incomplete education” to cover up their “cowardly” mentality. Now those who want to oppose the reform may have that kind of excuse. But the current transformation is an economic transformation. To put it simply, it is a transformation of life. No matter how inadequate the people’s education level is and how little education is popularized, they will never be able to sustain and develop life without knowing what is required. Unless you are someone who denies life, everyone has the ability to seek life, and everyone has received the natural education of seeking life. Is that kind of excuse worth laughing at? Supporting the various doctrines, habits and authority of the privileged class is enough to constrain the will to survive and prevent the development of the consciousness of life transformation. But the shouts of a few awakened people can eventually free the ordinary awakened souls from countless shackles and become the voice of the masses. And the hint of fact is a very powerful promotion machine for enlightenment. If we try to observe the number and capacity of strikes in various cities over the past few years, it will not be difficult to know that the awareness of reform is easy to spread.
From this point of view, although the second condition for transformation is not yet in place, it has already sprouted and will arrive sooner or later.
Be suspicious and afraid of people who oppose reform. If you don’t admit the fact that these two conditions exist, or if you can eliminate them, you can be doubtful, fearful, and opposed. Otherwise, if you don’t doubt, fear, and don’t oppose transformation, transformation will come. If you doubt, fear, and oppose transformation, transformation will come as well. You are suspicious and fearful and oppose transformation. Transformation is nothing more than adding a few more people to be transformed. Rather than reform eventually coming, why should you consider yourself to be in the position of being reformed? Has the time for reform come? It’s here, it’s almost here.
Will we be the proud children of opportunity and become the transformers? Or will we be the ones eliminated of opportunity and become the transformed ones?
Equality #20-22 Selected Articles
Anarchism Returned to Action
Anarchism is not an idea abstracted from the minds of scholars. It is the most universal principle of the universal phenomenon of the universe, the growth of the biological world, and the extremely important roots of the various activities of reproduction.
In this way, it seems to have given an extremely difficult definition to anarchism, but the result of my original composition is completely the opposite. I am not here to discuss difficult academic theories. I am here to explain that anarchism was before the term itself came into being, and before the content of it was considered by the pioneers of what is now called anarchism, such as Godwin. At the time that Bakunin and other pioneers clearly saw it, wrote about it, and publicized it, there were already countless anarchists there doing righteous activities. And it is not only France, Russia, Britain and other places that have produced famous anarchist preachers. There are countless anarchists in every place in the world, in all civilized, barbarous and primitive nations. In short, to put it more clearly, in the evolution of human history, no matter when and where it is, it is always inevitably dominated by two driving forces. One of which is the force of forward movement, the endeavor toward harmony and equality. The other is the force that holds the inherent power, that is, to work towards deformity and inequality. Anarchists are the executors of the former force, and while the Marxists to imperialists are the executors of the latter force.
What kind of people, then, are anarchists? They are those among the people who have pure enthusiasm, far-sightedness, and boldness, who do not have their own pleasures and personal “interests,” who are always in the vanguard of the changes of the times, who are the forerunners of most of those who are fearful of their own fate, who strive for constant change and progress, they are all anarchists. No historian can fail to recognize the greatness of the activity of the anarchists.
Godwin has clearly explained in “Enquiry Concerning Political Justice” that the principle of anarchism has its origins in the French Revolution but not in the expression of theory, but in the facts at the time of the revolution..
When the Tuileries Palace was broken down and King Louis XVI was imprisoned like an ordinary prisoner, the new municipality of Paris immediately realized that this was not the glory of the revolution that rose on July 14th, but the true glory of the revolution. The beginning of the revolution of common people’s equality. In all parts of France, peasants in the countryside violently destroyed the feudal system and freely organized their autonomous regions. By 1793, after the rule of a new tyrant, local rebellions and local unions arose in various places. The movement of activists is obviously the movement of anarchists. The unionists in the Marseilles and Lyons districts can almost represent complete anarchism. Representative figures are completely anarchist in their actions.
“In his “The Great French Revolution “, Kropotkin quotes the bourgeoisie’s representative, the leader of the Girondist party, as saying: “Order and cooperation are the essential means of revolution. The real enemies of the French people and the Republic are the anarchists. I know that the National Government has a party of players in France, and I am here to prove that, firstly, this anarchist party should dominate almost all the discussions of the National Government and all the actions of the Executive Committee. Secondly, that this anarchist party is the cause of all the evils that jeopardize France, and thirdly, that France cannot be saved unless it is seriously deprived of this party. The anarchists make endless comments on the West, on the wealthy, on the charge of being occupiers”, they say that the wealthy are robbers, that they are the same as the officials, and that as soon as a man has a position they think he is a poor, sinful man.”
Society is divided into two classes, the owner class and the empty-handed class, that is, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
“Before August 10th, these saboteurs were true revolutionaries, because then it was time to destroy the old system and to change the Communist regime into one of harmony. Now they are counter-revolutionaries, they are enemies of the people, because the people or the representatives of the people are now the masters”. All these were attacks on the anarchists of the time, but what he was attacking was exactly what the anarchists themselves recognized as their creed, and what they were always moving towards. In fact, the anarchists at that time did not have a party. In the National Government, there was the Gironde Party, the Jacobin Party, but not the Anarchist Party, except that some people sometimes unconsciously took on the color of anarchists, but the anarchists were always on the periphery of the National Government, or rather, above the National Government. Their power was such that they could influence the national government. Some of them were gathered in the Parisian Autonomous League, some belonged to the Club des Cordeliers, some to the Jacobin Club, but their real territory was in the districts, in the streets. Their course of action was public opinion, their weapon was rebellion. They gave life and strength to the revolution, and their ideals were crisp. A republic? Not bad! Legal equality? Agreed! But not only that, much more! This is the anarchism of the French Revolution, anarchism without system or principle.
They are the principal school of the anarchists. But they have all the most important and precious things of anarchism. What they did in 1848 and 1871 was the same, wasn’t it? Especially in the Paris Commune of 1871, in riots, they showed this tendency to the fullest.
If we look at the revolutionary movement in Russia, from the emancipation of the serfs a hundred years ago, from the countless peasant rebellions, from the misty spirit of the fighters who struggled under the cruel threats and tortures, we can see what the bloodlight of the resistance against the power and their own shortness of character has shown. In the cry of “Go to the people! What do the thousands of nameless fighters who, with the cry “Go to the people!”, from the metropolises, abandoning their status, honor, and happiness, leaving their relatives, friends, and lovers, leaving the abode of knowledge, the prosperous playgrounds, changing into rough clothes and heavy shoes, scattering to the poor villages in the four corners of the Russian Federation, ask for?
When the dark tyranny of Nicholas I aroused the desire for revenge, and they used their own blood to demand the blood of those thugs, they used the public will to judge those who had been sucking money from the past. If the blood of the dying people is wiped out by evil spirits, who dares to say that they will not consider their own interests?
What were the demands of those heroes in prison, in exile in Siberia? Before and after the October Revolution of 1917, everywhere they shouted “Land to the peasants, factories to the workers!” Who were they? Who were the peasants’ self-defense armies that rose up in Ukraine, defeated foreign imperialist armies, swept away all kinds of self-defense armies, and demanded “free Soviets”? Who were the revolutionary sailors swept away by the machine guns of Bolsheviks in Kronstadt? Who are the revolutionary sailors who are still in exile, in prisons, in the basements of the real demanders for further revolution?
In one word, we say that they are all anarchists, and that is what anarchists did during the Russian Revolution. From Lieutenant to the present day, Stalin’s followers are also repeating the phrase, “Before the Ten Years’ Revolution they were true revolutionaries, but after that they became counter-revolutionaries.” Because now the people of the proletariat are the masters?
We are no longer going to get involved in a purely social movement against the United States. For the time being, we will only talk about what history thinks the anarchists did in the political revolution.
Bakunin internationalized this spirit. At the end of his long period of rebellion and exile, he completed what is called modern anarchism in the First International. From then on, anarchism continued to develop.
Since the two great anarchist theorists Kropotkin and Shao Kelu laid a solid foundation for the construction of anarchism from an academic perspective, the territory of anarchism has become even larger. They gradually developed in the field of academic thought. On the one hand, they gained a large number of intellectual supporters. This was an inevitable progress in the course of an ideological movement, a significant progress.
But on the other hand in the ideological divisions of the anarchists, a peculiar tendency of the intellectuals, i.e. a reformist tendency, occurred. On the other hand, in the ideological division of the anarchists, a peculiarly intellectual, reformist, tendency took place. This tendency did not occur directly in the person of Kropotkin and Shao Kelu, because they themselves only interpreted actions in terms of theories, because their own lives were also characterized by a process of movement and exile. This is only an indirect tendency, or perhaps it is a phenomenon that occurred when the old ground of the anarchist movement after Europe was hit, when the former direct activists retreated from the work, and when, in the middle of their retreat, they could only propagate their ideas. This phenomenon is not only unique among anarchists but also common among socialists. For example, Marxism of the orthodox school of thought is not in action now, but only a social and economic theory that is popularly studied everywhere.
This tendency had a very bad influence on China. On the one hand, because anarchism came to China at a time when it had already acquired this tendency, on the other hand, the first people to be exposed to this idea in China were those who lacked the ability to act, because the Chinese working class could not enjoy it directly, but had to go through the hands of the petty bourgeois intellectuals who were in the process of revolutionizing the country, and so they took anarchism for what it was. It seems to be something truly transcendent. Some people think that anarchism is only propaganda. Moreover, most of its propaganda is wrong, for example, some people always seem not to understand the relationship between anarchism and individualism. I do not know how anarchism can be put on the side of the utopian class. Some people are skeptical about anarchism because they have only given it a superficial observation. As I said earlier, anarchism plays an important role in every event, in every place, in every change of history, can China be said to be an exception? What then is the explanation for the present state of the anarchist movement in China?
I am here to be able to observe a change of direction or a change of line. Let me be frank and declare that the anarchist movement in China is not being carried out by the average self-proclaimed anarchist, or by the average self-proclaimed anarchist, including ourselves, who organizes magazines and publishes pamphlets. The anarchists are not here. Or maybe this place represents only a little bit of the total percentage. Or maybe from this you can find people who are working against anarchism, you can find slackers, you can find cowards, you can find opportunists who wait for other opportunities and then walk away, but it doesn’t matter, the anarchist strongholds are not here, where are they? They are in the villages that we have never visited, in the peasant states that defend themselves, in the dark corners of the factories, in the armies, in all kinds of socially active groups. The bravest, the least interested among the revolutionary mob, who have probably shed a lot of blood in the various abuses, and who are still ready to shed it, are the ones who are not part of the anarchist army. They are the ones who have performed the important tasks that they performed during the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, and they are still performing them, and they may have the name of other parties on their faces, they may not have heard the word anarchism until their deaths, but they, are the anarchists, they are the avant-garde of the evolution of history.
The anarchist laborers who now hang signs and publish magazines are either hindering their work, or at least hindering their union. It is making them reluctant to use the term anarchism. For they hate empty words, they hate cowardice. So I am not talking about a return to activism to them. I hope that the self-proclaimed anarchists, of which I am one, who often speak only in empty words, will give up their timid, intellectual reformist attitude and return to the side of anarchism, which is called for by the “propaganda of action”. In this way we can unite with the people who work on that side, who have never been labeled as anarchists. In unity and with a courage to act that has never existed before, we can give a great power to the future!
The honor of anarchists can never be shouldered by oneself. They are the true executors of public opinion and the pioneers of the times. They are constantly moving further, that is, the people who work towards the realization of greater learning and freedom for the greatest number. They are the people in today’s social organizations. Only those who can shake up the darkest and most depressing parts with full vigor and anticipate future changes are qualified to bear the title of anarchist. Anarchists are the creative cities and builders of history. Anarchism is an honor for all mankind. Because without Anarchists there would be no historical evolution.
Questions and Answers
The state of affairs in China is full of darkness and loss. The common people are all crying out for help and are in a precarious situation. Any young man with a little bit of blood can hardly sit back and watch this situation. But how to save them? In the past, the Communist Party and the Kuomintang both wanted to help them. Now, although the Communist Party is still active everywhere and the Kuomintang is still in dictatorship, the young people and the general public have nothing but resentment and resistance towards them. The left-wing of the Kuomintang are gradually gaining ground, and there are some young people who believe in them. However, in my opinion, they are both figures from the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. If they come to power tomorrow morning and join the government, within a week or a month, they will immediately show their true colors. Those who believe in them now, as a result, are always fooled. Anarchism, in theory, I think is very complete, much better than current society. But it’s just a theory on paper, and so it’s useless. I already believe in anarchism, but my biggest problem is, firstly, it’s very difficult for one person to do something, and you need to have proof of what you’re doing. But I don’t know which organization I will join, the organization in the answer, you said that it is good to have an organization for things. Chinese anarchists are not without organizations. But the group itself is not full, and there is a lack of contact between each other, which we cannot condone! But this is just a fact of the past, a flaw of the past. As long as no one works hard, the future will not be like this. We also believe that to realize anarchism, we need a very substantial group. At the same time, we believe that if we believe in such a group, we will certainly have the possibility of creation. We don’t have to hesitate because of the shortcomings of the past. We should muster the courage to create and start over because of the shortcomings of the past. As long as someone works hard, it will not be difficult to create a substantial group within a few years. Since you believe in anarchism, creating groups is also one of your jobs, so just go for it.
Question, if the group has been organized, what will it do? The Chinese anarchists I have met seem to focus on written propaganda. Literary propaganda is naturally very important, but in addition there must be other tasks. I remember that Kropotkin said that cooperation among peasants is a way to achieve anarchism. What do you think?
Answer, regarding cooperation, some people think that it cannot achieve the purpose of eradicating the private property system. For example, cooperation in Denmark is very developed. One person went to inspect. According to the results he obtained, he only felt that the average person in Denmark, because of cooperation, the private economy, are relatively affluent, but they are content with the status quo and are afraid of social revolution. One worker even said to him that Denmark will not be revolutionary. These remarks are only the observations of one person and cannot be used to judge the relationship between the Danish cooperative system and the future social revolution, but they can be used for reference. However, if we transfer the ideas of the cooperationists to the other side, we can see that cooperation can be used as a means to achieve anarchy, and that it can be used as a means to achieve the goal of social revolution. However, China nowadays, unlike Europe and America, is in a particularly chaotic situation. In many parts of the country, there is either banditry or famine, and the people are not even able to protect their own lives, so how can we talk about other causes? Occasionally, it is a little calm, but when a soldier or bandit arrives, he can destroy houses, movies, food and other things. In provinces such as Hunan and Shaanxi, the people are in a situation where they do not know what is going on in the next month, and they are in a situation where they can hardly make ends meet. I am afraid that the whole country will come to such a state if politics continue in this way. Under such a situation, there is no way for cooperation to flourish. This is my humble opinion.
Question, I have heard some people advocate that organizing syndicalist work circles is a way to achieve anarchism. What do you think?
Answer: Anarchism and syndicalism are not the same thing, but they have many similarities. So many anarchists joined the syndicalists. Within syndicalism, there are so-called anarcho-syndicalists. Anarchists advocate that we should engage in a purely anarchist movement and not join the syndicalists. But according to my personal opinion, I feel that syndicalism, no matter what, has done a lot for anarchism. But China now is a country under one-party dictatorship. All workers’ groups that do not become the workers’ organizations of the Kuomintang are not allowed to do so. They are all subject to the control of the Kuomintang. In Germany, France, the United States, and Japan, syndicalist trade unions can organize and operate openly. In today’s China, there is a workers’ group that openly opposes political parties, the banner of opposition to the government came, and as a result, the title of a reactionary group was added, and its members were arrested in large cases and closed in small cases. In this way, the so-called trade union has almost no possibility except for being secret.
Question, I think the possibility of achieving anarchy by educational means is a bit higher, what do you think?
Answer, it is indeed the best to use the method of education to awaken the people. However, you should know two things. First, the bourgeoisie is very clever in the means of oppressing people. They know that force is often not enough, and they also know that education is important. Therefore, they took over the education mechanism; they forced the people to be educated as slaves by force. It goes without saying that the so-called state schools and public schools are subject to the supervision of the government, and even private schools have to be registered and interfered with; there is no freedom in the textbooks and education laws. If a school were to advocate social revolution, it would be closed down immediately. Secondly, in the present society, education is a privilege of the bourgeoisie. Almost all those who love specialized education and university education are bourgeoisie who, because of their position, will never agree with the revolution; they will only oppose the revolution with clever words and rhetoric. In Europe and the United States, ordinary people only have the opportunity to receive elementary school education, which is very short, and the knowledge gained is minimal. In China, they did not even have the chance to escape from elementary school education, so they could not even read or write. The bourgeoisie cannot but take advantage of the stupidity of the common people. They are afraid that the common people will become smart. But because the common people are stupid, they can be deceived, they can be deluded, they can be oppressed, they can be plundered, and they can be kept in slavery forever. It seems that some have said that anarchism can only be realized if everyone can receive a university education; but let us ask how many of the present university students are in favor of anarchism. Think about it, this kind of education is how to hinder anarchism, you naturally think that your education is anarchist education. This is absolutely not the case with education. However, in such a situation, how will you implement your anarchist education?
Question, if I want anarchism to be realized, the products must be abundant and sufficient for people’s consumption. To produce rich products, we must develop science and machinery. For example, in European and American countries, material civilization can be said to be extremely developed. If anarchism is realized, everyone will naturally be happy. As for China, the traffic is so blocked and the industry is stagnant. Even if anarchy is realized, I am afraid that the people may not get any benefits. Therefore, developing science first and then developing industry may be another way.
Answer, the main path to human happiness is anarchy. If the same country implements anarchism, the happiness of its people will definitely be much better than in the autocratic era, the constitutional era and the era of proletarian dictatorship. For example, there is a place with 500 acres of streets and 100 residents. If these 500 acres of land were shared by and everyone enjoyed it together, then everyone would definitely enjoy much more happiness than if it were monopolized by one or two or three landlords and worked exclusively for them. Although China’s material civilization and ethics are underdeveloped, in a year, the sole capitalists and the government waste so much money. If anarchism is implemented, even if material civilization is underdeveloped, it will still be the same as it is now, but the financial suffering of many people will naturally be much less than it is now. The goods wasted by a capitalist or a big bureaucrat are often enough to feed dozens or hundreds of civilians. This is the first step to solving your problem. Second, the key to realizing anarchism is mutual aid. If there is no mutual assistance in the world, then anarchism will lack the possibility of realization. But according to Kropotkin’s book, this instinct exists not only in the human world, but also in the animal world. In a country with developed science, it is good that people will be happier after realizing anarchism. However, anarchism will not be impossible to realize because of underdeveloped science. And even if science is not developed, after realizing anarchism, its happiness will definitely increase. Third, the development of science without the realization of anarchism, has only become a tool for capitalists to kill civilians. Some people greatly praise the development of European and American science, as if the only way to save the Chinese people is science. How do they know? Under the words “scientifically developed”, there are countless tens of thousands of innocent civilians who have died. You try to look at the poverty of European and American farmers and workers, you try to read the history of the war, you can probably tell that before anarchism is realized, the so-called science can be used as a tool for the capitalists in their extreme desire for poverty and luxury, and as a sharp weapon to kill people, but it is only a great enemy to the common people. If anarchism could be realized only through the development of science, then anarchism would have been realized in Europe and America long ago and there would be no more calls for social revolution. Fourthly, the only way to make science a blessing for all is to realize anarchism. Only through the realization of anarchism can there be unlimited development of science. For example, in China nowadays, how many people can have the opportunity to study science, and how many of them do not study science for the sake of making money? If anarchism is realized, then everyone will have the opportunity to study science, and those who study science will do so almost exclusively for the sake of knowledge, and not for the sake of fame. By that time, it will be easy to understand that the choice of scientific advancement will be different from that of today. Therefore, if we think that sending out science is of great benefit to mankind, then we have no choice but to realize anarchism. Some are great singers of material civilization and great admirers of science. They seem to think that anarchism can be realized after the development of science and material civilization. Their promotion of science without attempting to realize anarchism is tantamount to giving the capitalists a sharp weapon to kill people. Naturally, material civilization and science can be praised, but precisely because we want to praise them, we have to try to realize anarchism first. Please try to comprehensively study the opinions listed above. The answer to your question should be clear.
Question, what do you think of the assassination method?
Answer, Anarchist revolution is overthrowing the social system. When A is killed, B is killed several times; B is assassinated, and C is killed again; it is just a personal change, and it does not shake the fundamental system.
Question, if there was a general workers strike, what do you think would happen?
Answer, in countries with developed industries and workers’ organizations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, the general strike has been very effective. However, in China now, even if it is implemented, it may not be able to shake the fundamental function of the social system..
Question, the anarchist revolution is a revolution all over the world, and everyone should have a common drive. However, the above you always talk about China, as if China’s revolution should have special methods. What’s the reason for this?
Answer, Ii is true that the anarchist revolution is a world revolution. However, differences in time and environment are inevitable. Let’s compare Europe and China, we all know that there are many differences in every aspect. In my opinion, the aim of revolution is of course the same, but the methods of revolution may not be the same, although they may be similar. If all countries in the world have to adopt a rigid method of revolution, it will not work, and it will not be practical or effective. When planning, sometimes we cannot ignore “temporality” and “spatiality”. Moreover, the so-called world revolution means that the whole world will always move towards the same goal. As for the occurrence of revolution, they cannot be held at the same time. They must be sequential. Everyone in each country should try their best to implement it in their own country first, but there is no need to interfere with whether there is a possibility of revolution. Moreover, we have no borders. There is nothing wrong with a Chinese going to Europe to campaign for revolution, or a European going to China to campaign for revolution. In reality, however, there are always many difficulties. Our revolution is a revolution of the common people. When a European goes among the people, he must have a lot of inconveniences in terms of language, habits, and appearance. Therefore, our revolution can be helped by people from all walks of life, but in practice, for example, in the case of China, the Chinese people have to make their own efforts, and the efforts of the Chinese people cannot be avoided without taking a look at the situation in China.
Question, I have also heard that in order to achieve anarchism, it would be better to first implement proletarian dictatorship as in the case of the Communist Party, or parliamentary policies as in the case of the Social Democratic Party, or to gradually reduce the political power by political maneuvers to the extent that there will be no government at all. However, those ideas are based on the fact that if we do not use force, the people will be more flexible, will they not?
Answer, In the course of the revolution, force cannot be avoided. And the real revolution will take a longer period of time. And a real revolution will take a longer period of time. Sacrifice cannot be avoided. But revolutionaries can always minimize it as much as they can. However, in the present society, there are many people who have been sacrificed for nothing. Those who die of disease, those who die in prison, those who die in war, those who die of hunger, if there were precise statistics, the number would be very cheap to hear. In our society, the average civilian has no right to live. He can be sacrificed anytime, anywhere. I think that during the revolution, the so-called sacrifices were not necessarily greater than those at present, and it is only because people are numb and not aware of it. Moreover, after a revolution, all people will have the right to live in peace and happiness, and so the implicit substitution, the falsehood, is worthwhile. If we don’t have a revolution for fear of being sacrificed, then the future will be sacrificed for generations to come.
Question, will the revolution cause the same terror as the Communist Party?
Answer: Our revolution is absolutely different from that of the Communist Party. When we are destroying the social system, we are not seeking personal revenge against the capitalists. Kropotkin said, “Public people cannot rule the world with terror. Terror is created to create a trap, especially when he is wearing a mask of legality. The person who creates the iron wire to clamp down on the civilian population is in conflict with the revolution.” There must be something better than the guillotine and something more effective in terror. If the revolution has only terror as its way to defeat it, its future will be extremely tragic. Fortunately, it has other more powerful tools. Haha! Yes, Kropotkin made absolutely sense when he said that kind of terror would never be used by civilians. The two-wheelers loaded with victims and the guillotine will soon make the common people poor. He will soon realize that this terror is a preparation for what it should be — dictatorship — and he will destroy the guillotine.” It can be seen that the so-called terror is a tool for the ambitious to achieve dictatorship. A correct revolution has no need of terror; it is far from a revolution to know only the use of terror.
Question, I know the meaning of the revolution, but can you tell us the reason for the revolution? Human beings always love peace, but with revolution, peace cannot be maintained. That’s why many people are always afraid.
Answer: Human beings can never escape evolution, but revolution is one of the ways of evolution. Revolution is a rapid evolution. There is inertia in the world. The inertia is so deep that it cannot be changed without drastic action. If the fire is too strong, pouring water on it will only increase the intensity of the fire, and the only way to prevent it from spreading is to tear down the house. If the house is full of poisonous snakes and white rice worms, and there is no other way but to burn the wood. Although this is not a social thing, it can be inferred that there are many things in the universe that require fundamental reform. Improvements in minor details never help, but rather prolong corruption. This is also true of social phenomena. How many capitalists and landowners are there now, and how many of them can unite all their private property into a harmonious society? This is something that everyone knows is impossible. As mentioned above, education, trade unions, cooperation, etc. are human freedoms, but the government alone does not allow them? Everyone knows this is impossible. Nowadays, society has changed into a state of cannibalism, which is not a social norm, but a social disease. But this sickness cannot be cured without the use of strong medicines.The so-called revolution is nothing more than a medicine. When a man is sleeping soundly in a dream, he will not be able to drag on with shouting, so revolution can also be regarded as a kind of shouting. However, no matter what it is, it has to be influenced by the environment. Under the current conditions, if we want to reform everyone, it is not only a lot of effort, but also often ineffective; if the environment is changed, the individuals in it will be changed unconsciously. Revolution is a way of transforming the conditions, and can also be the most powerful form of education. Revolution can achieve true peace. In our society, there is always fighting and killing, but where is peace? The above remarks are very simple and unsystematic. As for the academic basis, I cannot go into details here due to my limited knowledge.
Question, as the current government, capitalists, has a strong army, and popular rebellion is like throwing eggs at a stone, what’s the use? Although the revolution is well-known, it is very reasonable and necessary, but there is too little guarantee of success.
Answer, What we are afraid of is that the people cannot wake up. However, countless small rebellions and the sacrifices of countless revolutionaries will surely lead to the revolution and awaken the people. The people’s pain is felt and inferred more deeply than ours. The people are unwilling to live a more free and peaceful life. They are afraid to act now because they are under the influence of power, and they are fascinated by fallacies. It is not difficult to awaken them to the nature of human nature. Once they awaken, the army, although strong, will be useless. Can the army live without the people? With no one to make weapons for them and provide them with food, they can only sit back and wait for death. Moreover, the Chinese soldiers were completely forced by hunger and cold, and their lives were very pitiful. They are all slaves of the officials. At the time of the popular revolution, I daresay that very few of them will be enemies of the people for the sake of the officials. They are in the same oppressed position as the people. If the people are awakened and a revolution takes place in one place, many other places will follow. If dozens of places were revolutionized, the army would be useless even if it was large. It can be said that the foundations of the monarchy are deep-rooted, but the power of revolution will eventually overthrow it. If the proletariat revolts, it will be a revolution of a magnitude beyond our imagination. But we need not fear the enemy, only our own lack of effort.
Question, besides revolution, should we do other work?
Answer, certainly, most importantly, there are two other things. (1) Our revolution depends on the initiative of the people and cannot be controlled and directed by a few leaders like other revolutions. Our revolution is not blind, we must have ideals. We need to know what the new society will look like to replace the current society. Therefore, publicity is extremely necessary. “To arouse man to prepare for the future and to bring about revolution is the business of those who foresee the path of evolution.” This is especially the case with secret societies and revolutionary groups. This is the cause of the anarchists. The first and most important thing is to make the purpose of the revolution known to everyone. Use your words and actions to publicize it as much as possible until everyone knows it. If we do this, on the day of the uprising, the purpose of anarchism will be on everyone’s lips. Everyone takes this matter very lightly, but it is actually very important. It is because in the minds of a few people, the purpose of doctrine is very clear, but the majority of the people are not. Because people are often influenced and confused by capitalist newspapers as they are now. The so-called propaganda is not limited to words; we should try to publicize it anytime, anywhere. But in this period when there are too few intellectuals, it is also very necessary to introduce important works and widely distribute popular pamphlets. As for the future, wherever civilians are. They are all places where we publicize. Acting, singing, books, etc. are all required. As for the importance of behavioral publicity, it goes without saying. (2) In order for a revolution to win the sympathy of the people, it is necessary for the revolutionaries to have the virtues of purity, sacrifice and courage. “It is not enough to spread the revolution, but the spirit of revolution should be aroused. The spirit of perseverance and courage (without which the revolution will never come into being) should be aroused and awakened.” Kropotkin thought that even among the so-called revolutionaries and communists in general, they were morally inconstant. Most of them lacked a guiding moral principle, a high moral ideal, and he repeated that it was probably because of the lack of a high moral ideal. The Russian Revolution could not create a new social system based on liberty and justice, nor could it ignite other countries with the fury of revolution, as happened in the French Revolution. The cultivation of high moral ideals is the element of anarchists, that is, the element of anarchist revolution.
Question: What else should we be doing?
Answer: I think the following matters are related to us. We should do what we can to the best of our ability. (1) Participate in the New Thought Movement, student youth movements such as fighting religion, advocating women’s liberation, etc. (2) Participate in mass organizations, such as peasant associations, labor unions, etc. (3) Participate in popular movements, such as strikes, rebellion against the government, anti-war movements, freedom-seeking and other movements. The Italian anarchist Malatesta said, If it is outside our own group, we must use mass movements. Work hard to propagate, participate in it no matter where you are, use all methods to win over the masses, instruct them to make revolution, and try your best to find opportunities to spread socialism and anarchism. All the methods I mentioned here can be adopted as long as they are not contrary to the purpose we have.
I’ve said too much, so let’s stop here. But many of them are my personal opinions, and I hope readers will discuss and correct them.
Our Talk
But enough is enough! Almost half of the previous issues of this journal were devoted to criticizing politics. If the criticism continues for a long time, and this magazine is changed into a daily publication, it will not bear enough criticism! We hope that readers will calmly look at the facts for themselves, and then compare our previous criticisms with the facts. We are limited by space, and would like to spend more time discussing theoretical and practical issues, and pay less attention to criticism of facts that do not deserve criticism. We hope readers will read more about the facts themselves.
Fact 1: We believe that the private property system and the government are dependent on each other. It is simply impossible to abolish the private property system without abolishing the government, so we advocate anarchy and communism. However, there are still people who support the abolition of private property but do not advocate the abolition of government. But what are the facts? When the country revolutionized in early 1917, it did not always pursue the abolition of the private property system. 7 At that time, the old government was overthrown and replaced by the Soviet of Peasants and Workers. When the communist system was passed on, the government was organized and the government took control, the private property system was revived. The private property system cannot be abolished as long as the government exists. The secret is not far away, that is, in Soviet Russia.
Fact 2: People who are superstitious about the government always think that the government can do bad things, but it can also do good things. If the government is only arbitrary, it is prejudiced. But what are the facts? Among the Kuomintang members, there is indeed a lot of opposition to the current Kuomintang government. It is enough, but who are the figures in the National Government? Aren’t they former members of the Kuomintang? Aren’t the Kuomintang members who have greatly opposed the government in the past the same person? If they are not in the position of the government, they will oppose the government; once they enter the government, they are only worthy of being arrested. People object. Didn’t they have a large number of welfare plans for the people before, but once they entered the government, they only turned out to be a blank check! Are their words and deeds when they were not in the government all lies? I think that is not entirely the case. of. “Government” is not a thing unless it drives people to do bad things. What is pitiable is that those who oppose the government today are afraid that they will not join the government; and those who do not want to join the government also hope that a good government will come out. The facts are as clear as daylight, but there are still people who are confused by magic!
How to Understand the True Meaning of Newspapers
People engaged in journalism all claim to represent public opinion, but we must know that today’s newspapers are under the protection of the government and capitalists and have become their mouthpieces. After the so-called public ethics and justice, taking the affairs of the government and capitalists as an excuse is just the resentment and resistance of the working class. Who dares to say a word of justice and win some benefits for the working people? Most of the telegraph news propagandized the regime’s plundering and buying and selling deception, and has no sympathy for the current situation and suffering of the civilians. This kind of news is unreasonable. If people really care about the happiness of the common people, they need to oppose the great enemies that hinder freedom — the good and evil government and capital interest. Only in this way can they represent public opinion and uphold justice.
Everyone who reads this should first understand that the comfortable life of the capitalists in the government is built on the suffering of the working class. Most of the journalists are willing to blame themselves for money and make distorted remarks about “being a slave.”
Following the current etiquette and hatred of the people is a big deception. Only when everyone recognizes the meaning of these things and the government can the social revolution of freedom and happiness be achieved.
Inform the Workers
The oppression suffered by Chinese workers in the United States under the capital system is the most miserable. There is no one with a heart who does not sympathize with the Chinese workers. Now we can only sympathize with the Chinese workers and have some consciousness. We must think of a way to protect the people who have toiled all day long. Therefore, many Chinese workers in recent years have had their labor unions and labor unions organize and organize labor unions. It should be the most legitimate and just thing for workers to ask their bosses for improvements and to pay more wages to support their livelihood. But the workers’ boss was still not satisfied with their ambitions after depriving workers of all the happiness and benefits they had enjoyed with their hard work. He even hid the true face of a worker, and ordered his lackeys and waiters to use his worst methods. Come to deceive Heaven and scare Heaven away from human unity. They refused to accept conditions that were not superior to those of the workers, and devoted themselves to creating and destroying them. They wanted to make the police and thugs attack the sky and arrest the gods. However, the workers continued to work hard without flinching. Reach the full potential of everyone.
You should be confident that you are powerful. When you unite to fight for the interests of the working class, you will be brave and unfailable. Workers must decide their will and be strong. Unity is strength. You must unite bravely.
Overthrow the capital system and let the working people live a better life.
On the Slavery Problem (excerpts from Anarcho-Communist Monthly 2 & 3)
From Anarcho-Communist Monthly #2:
We can infer from an economic standpoint and know that between the fishing and hunting era and the nomadic era, there were fewer wars with immortals compared to the early agricultural era, and the victors retained the captives as slaves. There were very few, because of the unpredictable nomadic life, they lead the captive slaves, and the uncertain floating life can easily give the slaves a chance to escape, and the economic conditions at that time did not allow for more slaves. Existence, as for the nomadic era, progressed to the agricultural period. At that time, the people had fixed residences due to the relationship between sowing and harvesting. The need for labor was urgent, and people in groups were easy to organize. In addition, the land had different fertility. This often leads to invasions or wars. In addition to territorial expansion and wealth acquisition, the victor also captures the enemy and uses them as slaves in addition to exempting them from the death penalty. The slaves became the targets of unlimited exploitation by the conquerors.
We can say that the slavery system was the beginning period from fishing and hunting to nomadic herding, and it was the completion period in the agricultural era. Some people say: In the industrial age, slavery has been declared a death sentence. In fact, these are all lies that violate the facts. In the patriarchal society of the agricultural era, there were serfs, and in the capital society of the industrial era, there were wage slaves. When economic conditions change, the form of slaves changes accordingly, but the essence of slaves remains. Why? What? Our conclusion is:
The system of slavery exists and occurs between a poor class and a powerful class, that is, it is included in the private system. In other words, until the private system is overthrown, the slave system will always exist.
From Anarcho-Communist Monthly #3:
From the perspective of the evolutionary process of slaves, it can be said that they went from being captured, bought and sold to hired. Slaves in the nomadic era were, of course, captured, while most of the slaves in the agricultural era were purchased. After the industrial revolution, capitalism flourished, and the capitalists’ commodities broke through the rural economy. The peasants were oppressed by poverty. They also gradually left the countryside and concentrated in cities. In capitalist society, the proletariat and the bourgeoisie have formed a mentality of fighting against the slaves of this era, who are mainly employed. In other words, the proletariat is a wage slave; a laborer who is blatantly exploited by the bourgeoisie.
As long as slaves exist, there will be no equality and justice; the life of a slave is an inhuman life, a life of shame!
I have said above: The slavery system is a system that occurs between a poor and weak class and a powerful class, that is, it is included in the split of the private system. Then, if the proletariat wants to be liberated from wage slaves and become free people, it is of course necessary to fundamentally eliminate the private system; but it is the government and capitalists who maintain the private system; if we want to overthrow them, we must spread our own ideals among the working class. In order to promote the class consciousness of workers, consolidate partial strikes into general strikes, and transform the general strike mechanism into an armed revolution of the working class against capitalism and the state! This is the solution! The Only Solution to the Slave Problem.
The Opportunity to Liberate Chinese Workers Has Arrived
The garment union was the first to launch an attack. We should respond unanimously.
Our Chinese workers in the United States have been subjected to inhumane treatment by their employers for seventy or eighty years. I have never heard of anyone going on strike to demand improved treatment. This strike by the garment union can be regarded as an unprecedented move by Chinese workers in the United States. Although we are not yet satisfied with the limits of their demands, we really admire their courageous attitude and determined spirit. In addition to our best efforts to provide assistance, our colleagues also have a few words of advice to all my beloved Chinese workers in the United States. The ancients would say, “Although you are wise, it is better to take advantage of the situation.” The current trend is actually a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our Chinese workers to liberate themselves. Workers in various industries who have unions should respond immediately, and those who do not have unions should respond immediately.
Workers are overly oppressed, treated badly, and have to work for a long time! It is completely beyond the endurance of human beings. Let’s rise and work together to show the brave people? Great unity of gender, country and race is needed! All political parties are our enemies, and we must not be used by them or their affiliates! Workers should believe in themselves and take responsibility for their own cause. Get up! Get up! Unite quickly and stop being like cows and horses! Live freely! Let’s work hard!
Refute of the Communist Party (Excerpts from Anarcho-Communist Monthly 3 & 4)
From Anarcho-Communist Monthly 3:
Have the Communists lost their minds and blinded their eyes? The workers have long since realized that the opinions of the Qunsheng Newspaper are of no value. A few days ago, my friend gave me the 567th and 589th issues of that newspaper to read. After I finished reading them, I felt deeply that Lenin did not have any knowledge of history; Zhang Hentang not only spoke briefly, but also did not know how to. Even if you say half a sentence, in fact, you are still telling lies!
The great anarchist Shifu wrote in “A Brief Introduction to Anarchy”: “How does a government arise from the beginning? It begins with force and power.” The meaning of this sentence is that “the origin of the country and the emergence of the government” are all rooted in the consciousness of power. (The consciousness of power is cultivated from the private system.) Because Zhang Hentang was superstitious about Lenin, he copied Lenin’s words without any history and said: “The state is the product and expression of the irreconcilable class contradictions.” This is really a “superficial explanation.” and “theoretical bankruptcy”. Anyone with a little common sense knows that the entire history of mankind is a history of class struggle; there is an unhidden history of struggle between the plundering class and the plundered class. The two opposing classes can never be reconciled. In this long history of class struggle; the emergence and elimination of states have occurred several times. The formation of modern states only emerged in the sixteenth century. If we follow Lenin’s words, the existence of the state proves that class contradictions cannot be reconciled.“Then, human history is all a history of class struggle, and the state has always existed along with human history? After studying the state, Kropotkin once said: “After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Celts, Slavs, and Slavs. Those races in Scandinavia all started the construction of civilization from scratch. Their primitive races each slowly refined their inherent customs and habits.” which was maintained until the twelfth century. Then came the free cities of the Republic, during which glorious progress was made in their science and art, as well as in all aspects of other human relations. What emerged later was the modern state.
“Medieval urban civilization was destroyed by the modern barbarians who appeared in Europe in the 16th century. Who were the barbarians? They were the country formed by the triangular alliance of military leaders, Roman judges and monks.They wanted to consolidate the ruling power and into a force called a country.”
Times advance along a curve. Therefore, in that era, great power gained power and the state emerged, but at the same time, the free association of the people was temporarily destroyed. But the people’s spirit of resistance still exists. Kropotkin said:
“Since the beginning of human society, there have been two currents of thought and action going hand in hand. On the one hand, the people have built many organizations necessary to make social life stable. On the other hand, there are always many people who unite to help each other. Governing the people, making them obey their commands, and giving them work.”
From this, we can understand that government and country are not the same thing. The state includes the government, which is a member of the organized state. Zhang Hentang said: “Because I have lost my mind and my eyes, I see the country and the government as a whole thing.” In the article he published in Qun Sheng, he quoted Lenin’s “state” in the first section and replaced “state” with government in the second section. This proves that Zhang Hentang is “faint” and “blind”.
Zhang Hentang, the younger Lenin, said, “The state is a powerful and economically dominant class. They use the state to become the political ruling class, and thus have new methods to oppress and exploit the oppressed.” Class” This proves that the state is always a poison that disturbs peace. There can be no doubt that the country should be overthrown. However, on the one hand, the Communists say that the state “is an organ of oppression and exploitation,” on the other hand, the workers support the “fatherland, the Soviet Union.” This is not just Zhang Hentang who is “faint” and “blind”, but actually all Communists are “faint” and “blind”!
Because Zhang Hentang was “faint” and “blind”, he said that the target of anarchism was power. In fact, the working class does not know that the target of anarchy is the bourgeoisie, so when we advocate social revolution, we must eliminate the government. “Fascism,” “imperialism,” and “Marxism-Leninism” are all doctrines that oppress the proletariat. The Communist Party must be eliminated!
From Anarcho-Communist Monthly 4:
Who is “committing theoretical confusion”? In the 589th issue of Qunsheng, “Who is telling lies?” Yi Wenzhu said: “Anyone who has done a little research on communism knows the principles of communism. The ultimate goal is a communist society. It is not an anarchist-communist thing at all, and there is no reason to go through the transitional period of anarchist-communist.” It continued below: “In the end, the existence of classes will be eliminated. Realizing a communist society in which everyone does his best and everyone gets what he needs.” After reading these sentences, we should first understand that in a society in which everyone does his best and everyone gets what he needs, there is a prerequisite, which is to transfer capital. All the wealth of the socialist society was confiscated. At that time, all wealth was based on public ownership. At this time, everyone doing what they can, producing together, everyone taking what they need, and consuming together are not empty words. This is the true implementation of “communism.” On the basis of this “communist” economy, the politics of course is that everyone in the group and association can develop freely. Organize freely according to mutual needs and aspirations, from simple to complex. In this “communist” society: classes, governments, countries, laws, etc., are of course eliminated, because politics is built on the basis of economics. If there are the same economic conditions, there will be the same political facilities. From this point of view, when the Communist Party (actually the Marxist Party) says that its ultimate goal is to “realize a communist society in which everyone can do what they can and everyone gets what they need,” this is not referring to the situation under anarchic communism. In other words? I think the Communist Party must be suffering from “confusion”. If not, why do they say “it is not anarchist communism at all”?
Now let’s take a look at what the Communist Party calls a “transitional period.” According to Lenin: The main condition for the complete transformation of all branches of production is time. In particular, the power of habit is so great that the people are accustomed to a petty bourgeois and bourgeois economy, and it will take a long and difficult struggle for them to be persuaded to change their methods. This is the reason for the “transitional period” of the Communist Party. That is to say, the main task of prolonging and preserving the life of the private system and the country is to completely transform all sectors of production. It is not the invisible and intangible “time”, but to make the disadvantages of the current social system known to the people everywhere. Let them understand that a new society based on the principle of equality is possible, and make the people strictly organized to realize their demands. The proletariat’s social life is not due to any heroes who can create it. The reason for its success is due to the hardship and oppression of its living conditions. If revolution breaks out before it matures, it will be pure rebellion, that is to say, it will have no clear goal. Therefore, if there is more political and economic oppression, there must be greater propaganda and movement, so that the revolution will not fail. After all, Lenin was the spokesperson of the bourgeoisie, so he said that the people were accustomed to a kind of petty bourgeois and bourgeois experience. Such comments and insults to the working class are said without shame. In fact, under this cruel capital system, the people (the working class) can only feel the hardship and oppression of life, and can only maintain their position in the proletariat. Proletarian consciousness has been cultivated in life. If a revolution breaks out at any time, the rivers of bloody tassels will naturally inspire the entire people (working class) to follow the bloody path and carry out armed revolution, which will not stop until complete victory is achieved. The “time”, “transitional period” and “force of habit” that Lenin talked about are nothing more than a mantra used by bureaucrats to deceive and conceal the power of the government. In other words, revolution cannot be successful through Lenin’s “persuasion”. The proletariat does not have “bourgeois economic” habits as Lenin said.
We have to figure out what the “dictatorship of the proletariat” is again. Comrade Fu Gan made it very clear on this issue. He said: The current ruler of the Bolsheviks, a country with a population of 140 million, has become the supreme ruler of Russia under the name of “proletarian dictatorship”. The so-called proletarian dictatorship is not a dictatorship by the proletariat. Millions of people cannot all be dictators, and even tens of thousands or even tens of millions of people cannot all be dictators. The essence of dictatorship is that it is limited to a very small number of people. The smaller the number of people, the stronger and more unified the dictatorship will be. In actual practice, dictatorship is always in the hands of one person, and this one person’s strong will will force his nominal colleagues (the same dictator) to agree. The Bolsheviks (Communist Party) are of course following this path.
“The free activities of the people are the lifeblood of the revolution. If we get rid of it and suppress it, the revolution will only die. The purpose of the revolution is to obtain freedom, so to achieve this goal, we can only use the people. We must express our opinions freely, and we must not use coercion or dictatorship. In the revolution, just as in daily life, there is no third middle way. It is not self-pretending. Comrade Bakunin said well: “No matter what kind of autocracy, It cannot achieve other goals than maintaining its own political power.” From this point of view, so-called communism (Marxist-Leninism) “is not the consciousness of superior revolutionary workers,” and is completely capitalist.
What did the vanguard reporter say? A vanguard reporter tried his best to ridicule anarchists in the newspaper’s pages published on July 15 and August 1, but when we analyzed his article, we found it “ridiculously unreasonable.” “We know very well that those who advocate the continuation of the private system and government are all hostile to anarchists, and they always want to massacre us.” As quickly as possible. The reason is that anarchists support the interests of the working class and carry out social revolutionary movements!
We all know that the publications we publish are all supported by the hard-earned wages of our workers. Therefore, the reason for the temporary suspension of publication of “Equality”, which we published three years ago, was that the livelihood of the workers was relatively difficult, and the economic resources were temporarily suspended. However, even now, although the workers are still in difficulty, they continue to receive our propaganda and guidance, and they are gradually becoming conscious, and our publications have been able to continue to publish with the donations of the conscious workers. Our pride is that we do not receive subsidies from the government or capitalists!
“Concerning Japan’s provocation”, “the Kuomintang’s betrayal”, “the pain of unemployment and capital reduction over time”, the anarchists all have specific and thorough opinions. Aren’t the theories of anarcho-communism and the activities and sacrifices of anarchists the best proof?
Xu Yongying said: “Proletarian leadership is the only way to overthrow the capitalists and completely eliminate them.” But we ask another question: “Overthrow the old-style capitalists and their governments, and then re-establish a government and capitalists under the dictatorship of the proletariat.” So, there is still a stage in society where the working class still does not have freedom. Does the so-called “proletarian monopoly” suppress it so that it cannot be resurrected?
Xu Yongying first joined the Kuomintang, and then he felt that the Kuomintang was reactionary. (I can’t remember which issue he was at the time — he published an article in which he only said that the Kuomintang was reactionary, but did not criticize the Three People’s Principles at all. Maybe he is still nostalgic for it.) Then he joined the Communist Party, which is further proof of his expression. Of course, I don’t want to presume ill will on others. Maybe they are very loyal to the proletariat, but we have to know that being loyal alone is not enough. We should be under the guidance of the anarchist party. Only such loyalty can be practical. Otherwise, it will only earn him a poor mountain to climb. Those “Communists” who are loyal to the proletariat should turn back as soon as possible!
Rumors Heard, Local Police Dispatched Last Night
Two Chinese people were arrested: they were brought to the precinct. The prosecution’s case against them accused them of illegally distributing leaflets. The arraignment was originally scheduled for the 27th. However, at the same time, documents printed by Chinese people began to appear: Yesterday, the Immigration Bureau sent translators to translate the “May Day Special Issue” and “Equality” pamphlets. Many of them were printed by the Equality Society. There is also a pamphlet sent from Shanghai. There are about ten books including “Anarchism”, “On the State” and “Revolution” and “Advice to China’s Revolutionary Youth”. The group is suspected of spreading anarchism.
Warning to Working People
No matter which country, the military education, army, navy, air force. poison gas, bombs, and guns are all used to fight for the property of the country’s capitalist and powerful classes, and to poison, kill and invigorate the people.
We believe that the Japanese imperialists’ actions of invading China and killing people are crimes of capitalism and nationalism. As for solving this crime, only the working people of the world can unite to resist the military education at its root and destroy it. Only by destroying private property, poison gas, bombs, guns and other weapons that kill people, can we overthrow capitalism and abolish nationalism. Only then can we put an end to the chaos that invades and kills people, and can we make it easier for everyone to have a job and have food to eat.
People! Wake up! Work hard to build a free and equal society and realize a peaceful and happy world! Let’s move forward! Let’s fight!
What is Anarchism?
From Anarcho-Communist Monthly 5 & 6:
Dear friends! You may think that the current society is dark and also miserable. Anarchism is not a bad idea, it is just a proposition to “eliminate all the dark and fearful phenomena in today’s society.” No matter what, you will never be able to deny “freedom.” Anarchism is not some terrible madness, it is just a doctrine that “pursues political and economic freedom and equality.”
Anarchists advocate:
1. In politics, we do not want a government that governs people by people. The people’s affairs are best handled by all the people together. There will be no omnipotent person in the world who can manage all affairs. How can we manage the affairs of tens of millions of people? Isn’t it the most unreasonable thing to occupy the position of breaking the rule of law? Isn’t it much better for educators to handle educational matters themselves than for the government’s education department? The fields and factories should be managed by farmers and the government that collects taxes can be eliminated. Anyone can freely organize with others to produce certain items or meet certain needs, such as the Educational Association (not the organ that manages production in the lower corners of the country now dominated by politicians) and the Farmers Association (not the current organization that uses many unproductive people). people can join) and various academic corners, etc. These groups based on region or profession, such as work units, can freely connect with groups in other places and professions. As the people’s hearts advance, organizations become denser, and all transportation, education, production, distribution, etc. are handled by these groups. Isn’t it better than the current government with rogue politicians and military personnel that is strapped for money?
2. Economically, private property should be completely abolished. The fruits of farmers’ and workers’ hard work all year round are wasted in vain by the idle landlords. The capitalists took it away. This is really the most unfair thing in the world. We hold that when an individual is born, he should be educated by society, and when he grows up, he should be able to work (working with both hands and brain at the same time). He strives to produce necessary and luxury goods for society, while also enjoying the food, clothing, shelter and other medicines that can be given to him. Everything is left to the management of various industries, as the landlords, and capitalists have become useless.
From Anarcho-Communist Monthly 7:
Chinese people are too slow to understand anarchism. Here we will briefly explain:
First, many people think that anarchism is immoral. This is completely wrong. What anarchists deny are old legends and stubborn superstitions. Anarchists absolutely advocate morality. We believe that if there is no real morality in society, not only will there be no progress, but it will definitely be eliminated. However, the morality advocated by anarchists is free. If we want to have true morality, we must eliminate the current political, economic, and ethical classes. What anarchists want is true morality such as honesty, mutual aid, fairness, and sacrifice.
Second, many people think that anarchists are just fanatics who fire off guns and bombs. This is also wrong. Anarchism may be a doctrine with a purpose and a systematic system. Those who are shallow in anarchism are also people who are very “loving” and “sympathetic”. When society oppresses us too much, we may have to use this method as a last resort. But usually, we are very willing to use the most peaceful means to win the sympathy of the people.
Third, many people think that anarchists are utopians. This is even more wrong. Anarchists theoretically summarize all modern scientific conclusions obtained by using scientific methods and create anarchism. It serves as the basis for theory, in fact, and serves as the standard for anarchist behavior by objectively observing political and economic trends and the actual situation of human life. The word “utopian” has to be added to the theory that is not obtained by scientific methods and the doctrine that goes against the modern trend. As for anarchism being possible, it is possible to realize it, and its realization is not far away.
Everyone already knows something about anarchism. I hope that if you can calmly think about what I have said above, you most definitely agree with anarchism.
الأمل (Al Amal) / Hope, #2, march-april 2025
Statement of the Anarchist Group of Sudan
From our deep understanding of social revolution as anarchists and our revolutionary duty, we present our perspective and proposals for solutions concerning our beloved homeland and its people.
We have witnessed how political forces, alongside their ally, the Janjaweed, and the same forces that conspired with them to violently disperse the sit-in and kill Sudanese youth, have now agreed to divide the country after failing in their attempt to fully control it.
The Sudanese street, which united with conscious revolutionary spontaneity under clear slogans— »The military to the barracks, the Janjaweed must dissolve »—is now facing an attempt by all the forces it stood against to slaughter its revolution.
The Janjaweed’s adoption of revolutionary principles, along with their allies, is nothing but empty slogans devoid of meaning. The wolf is trying to wear the sheep’s wool. We therefore warn revolutionaries worldwide against falling for their vile tricks. Any support directed towards political forces in Sudan ultimately serves the counter-revolution and buries it.
Just as counter-revolutionary forces have always sought to criminalize revolutionary action, the propaganda of the former regime is intensifying. We categorically reject the exploitation of the Sudanese people’s sacrifices in defending themselves against the imperialist partitioning project, carried out by political forces affiliated with the former regime. The Sudanese people fought against the Janjaweed in self-defense, not for political gain or power.
A Message to the Revolutionaries
The Janjaweed, their political allies, and the remnants of the former regime are enemies of the revolution. This fact has not changed, and the revolution continues. We urge you to reject the racial supremacist discourse that has spread during this war and to unite against the systematic war propaganda. Do not be dragged behind ideological propaganda; instead, assess the revolutionary situation truthfully.
The right to self-defense is a natural right. We do not oppose anyone defending themselves, their land, or their family—this is an inherent human right.
We have witnessed horrific crimes committed by the warring factions. While we stand firmly against the Janjaweed until they are completely dissolved, we also condemn all unjustified crimes committed by state forces. Even under oppressive laws, the right to self-defense is recognized, and legal frameworks exist for addressing crimes. We reject the extrajudicial application of justice, as it only perpetuates cycles of revenge. Crime cannot be countered with another crime.
We call upon revolutionaries to unite behind the idea of mutual aid and solidarity, so we may rise from the wreckage of these schemes that seek to bury the revolution. And we say this: Whoever tries to bury the revolution, know that revolution is a seed—once buried, it will only grow into stronger and more fruitful trees.
Long live the revolution!
Long live freedom!
22d of February, 2025
Tunisian General Labor Union UGTT : Reform from Within, Possibility or Mirage?
The Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) has always been a central force on the Tunisian political and social scene, but at the same time it suffers from a fundamental contradiction between its historical role as an incubator of workers’ struggles and its transformation into a calcified bureaucratic institution. The central question here is: can the union be reformed from within, or is any attempt to do so merely a reproduction of the logic of the state itself within trade unionism?
The Fundamental Contradiction: Union or Institution?
The union emerged in the context of the struggle against colonialism and subsequently established itself as a mediator between workers and the authorities in the era of the national state. However, over time, it ceased to be a mere tool of struggle and became an integral part of the state’s institutional structure, negotiating within a political and economic system that maintains the domination of capital. This is where the main contradiction emerges: a union that is supposed to represent the working class, but which is ultimately subject to the logic of the state, that is, to the logic of hierarchy, representation, and negotiation instead of direct confrontation.
Reform from Within: Possibility or Mirage?
Some believe it is possible to reform the union by restoring the spirit of struggle within it, but this idea ignores the deep structure that governs it. Just as the state cannot be reformed to become « horizontal » without losing its essence as a tool of repression, any attempt at « democracy » within the union runs up against the walls of its inherent bureaucracy, where every internal rebellion becomes a new project of containment. Any internal reform is, ultimately, a reproduction of the same model with new faces.
The Revolutionary Alternative: Overcome, Not Reform. If the problem lies in the structure itself, the solution cannot be a patchwork, but a radical one. The alternative lies not in union reform, but in moving beyond it to forms of worker self-organization: workers’ councils, horizontal unions, structures independent of any bureaucratic representation. Revolutionary union action cannot be an official institution, but must be a dynamic movement that rejects the logic of mediation and seeks to create a genuine working-class force outside the framework of the state and the market. Towards a New Horizon for Union Action The insistence of some on wanting to reform the Tunisian General Labor Union amounts to wanting to reform the state itself from within: an illusion that drags the workers’ struggle into the quagmire of formal reforms. The alternative is not to recycle the same bureaucratic mechanisms, but to build independent structures of struggle based on direct democracy and collective action.
Transcendence, not reform, is the only path to truly freeing workers from the constraints of bureaucracy and the logic of the state.
NC (Tunisia)
El-Fasher: The City That Anarchists Support in Its Self-Defense
Since its formation, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), known as the Janjaweed, have practiced racial supremacy and genocide against the people of Darfur with the support of Omar al-Bashir and the central authority in Khartoum. The Janjaweed have turned the city into a massive military camp by burning villages around it and devastating towns across Darfur, especially El-Geneina, where some of the most horrific modern ethnic massacres have taken place. In one of their brutal acts, the RSF gathered indigenous Massalit people in a water drainage area and buried them alive. Videos recorded by the perpetrators themselves show victims pleading to be shot rather than buried alive.
This horrifying image is deeply ingrained in the minds of El-Fasher’s residents and social communities, making it clear that surrendering to the Janjaweed means being exterminated alive.
That is why they have decided to defend themselves.
As for the army, it holds onto the city for military purposes, but after its withdrawal from Zalingei and Wad Madani, it is no longer a trusted force for the people. Meanwhile, the armed resistance movements that have taken up arms against the Janjaweed have significant ethnic ties to the city’s population.
However, at the core of the issue is the fact that the RSF does not engage in direct battles with military factions but instead bombards civilians indiscriminately, targeting markets and hospitals. This was evident in the complete destruction of Zamzam camp, the largest refugee camp for those fleeing Janjaweed atrocities, where its residents were shelled using Emirati-supplied artillery.
The United Arab Emirates has provided substantial support to the RSF to divide the country, supplying them with drones that destroy civilian infrastructure, along with mortar shells and ammunition, including 120mm, 125mm, and 130mm rounds—used in some of the most brutal indiscriminate bombings aimed at forcibly displacing the population. The UAE’s support is driven by its desire to control Darfur’s gold, land, and livestock wealth, aligning with the ambitions of the Dagalo mafia to dominate the region. Their formation of a new government now lays bare their true intentions of fueling war, which anarchists have long recognized.
Yet, despite this extensive financial and military backing, the unwavering determination of the city’s people and their fight for survival stand as an unbreakable force. This is a fundamental struggle that resonates with all who carry a revolutionary spirit and fight for freedom.
Fawaz Murtada.
The third article, “Why Would You Become an Anarchist in Sudan?” has been translated by the CNT-AIT poorly, as such, you’d be better off reading the translation we posted a a few hours ago.
Fawaz Murtada – Why Would You Become an Anarchist in Sudan?
Friends in the Kurdish-speaking Anarchist Forum (KAF) have recently received this communication from an anarchist comrade in Sudan. We wanted to share here, so people can know the situation for anarchists in Sudan.
Why Would You Become an Anarchist in Sudan?
This question has always haunted me at many moments in a country of ideological, cultural, ethnic, tribal, and political diversity—where countless choices exist, yet none can be freely made. The moment you are born, your identity in Sudan is determined by religion, while your tribe plays a crucial role in shaping your culture and even your fate.
To become an anarchist in Sudan, you must have already escaped all these imposed identities and the suffocating constraints that push us into the furnace of the state. Sudan is a country where war, crises, and disease have never ceased. Its people, saturated with military, religious, and tribal ideologies, serve as perfect fuel to ignite conflicts. In such a country, I have always looked at my life with amazement. Our struggles often resemble action films—perhaps bizarre or unbelievable to outsiders—where survival means constantly fleeing from warring factions, dodging a hail of bullets fired directly at you. Bullets of the state, religion, tribe, sect, and armed factions.
Choosing to be an anarchist is an expression of true awareness of the failures of these systems. It is a consciousness that pushes you to the limits of both practical struggle and the deeply complex human experience. And this path leads to only two possible outcomes: you either survive as a true revolutionary resister, or you are consumed by the spiral of power. Just as authority in Sudan takes many forms, so does opposition. There are political resistance movements, parties, mercenary armed groups, so-called revolutionary and liberal militias built on tribal structures, and cultural factions engaged in deep propaganda-driven Authoritarianism.
These intertwined hierarchies form the crises of Sudanese peoples. Sudan is, in reality, a collection of small peoples trapped within a state that wields brutal power, recognizing no human rights beyond its own interests.
Furthermore, the ideology of extremist Islamists has been another tool for deepening ignorance and backwardness in Sudan.
Striving to confront all of this as a lone anarchist is like fighting as a wolf among packs of hyenas. If they find a single weakness in you, it will mean your inevitable destruction. The path forward begins with seeking out those who share your ideas, developing them, and offering them knowledge and education. As an anarchist, you carry the feeling that wherever you are, and whatever your capacity, your mission is to spread freedom. The price of that freedom may be high—it may even cost you your life. Yet, all of this is just a small contribution to the scale of liberation that people need to live a dignified human life. Freedom is the highest state of being, and anarchism shows us how to achieve and practice it. Freedom is not just a poetic word to express aspirations—it is an effort, a commitment to being free with yourself and others, and a struggle to make freedom a reality.
To be an anarchist is a blessing that cannot be monopolized or hidden.
To be free is to be an anarchist, and to be an anarchist is to be free.
Why Should Anarchists in Sudan Be Supported?
Every day, we witness global conflicts over resources, power, and ideology, with peoples divided into camps—either supporting the existing authority in their countries or seeking to seize control of the state. In Sudan, the struggle for resources and power has long been the driving force behind conflicts, culminating in the catastrophe that befell the country on April 15, 2023. These events starkly revealed the truth behind the slogans of the December Revolution, which anarchists actively worked to clarify.
When the Janjaweed were an integral part of the military state and participated in the violent dispersal of sit-ins, comrades bravely opposed them, demanding their popular dismantling, recognizing them as a threat to the revolution and society. Later, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) emerged as an independent power based on tribal foundations, wielding their authority and weapons to impose dominance through explicit racial supremacy. In Sudan, organized tribal conflict is visibly fueled by the state, with ignorance
serving as the primary tool for igniting division among communities for the benefit of the ruling powers.
Anarchists have rejected tribal authority, which remains the primary driver of conflict in Sudan, and are fighting to spread awareness of freedom, independent thought, and liberation from state and tribal propaganda to prevent people from becoming pawns in the power struggle. In a country exhausted by poverty, underdevelopment, and wars—where resistance has become increasingly difficult, and comrades face unimaginable repression—Sudanese anarchists have insisted on their presence and continued struggle. Their role extends beyond resistance; they have become a mirror reflecting the true reality of the
situation, beyond the distortions of mainstream media, sharing their daily experiences and struggles with anarchists worldwide.
In Africa, where anarchist ideas remain relatively scarce, Sudanese anarchists serve as a beacon of hope for spreading emancipatory consciousness. The rise of African peoples against the plundering of their resources and their treatment as a dumping ground for waste and a treasure trove for global exploitation is no longer a choice—it is a necessity. The war in Sudan is not merely an internal conflict; it is an open battleground for arms testing, as many nations sell their weapons to be used against innocent civilians.
Today, Sudanese people are not fighting over religion or ideology but are engaged in a fundamentally authoritarian struggle. With social movements against ideology losing momentum, anarchists remain the only ones capable of offering a correct analysis and critique of authoritarian policies. As we give our utmost efforts—and possibly even our lives—to maintain our existence and spread awareness, the support of comrades worldwide is crucial.
We cannot fight this struggle alone. Just as we recognize that we are not alone in this world, international solidarity strengthens us. That is why we call on all comrades to support anarchists in Sudan—because supporting them is supporting freedom and justice against tyranny in all its forms.
Support the anarchists in Sudan… Support freedom in Sudan!
Anarchists Contributions During the War
Certainly, the war had a devastating impact on the formation of our group, as displacement and dispersion were inevitable consequences of the violent conflict in the country. However, thanks to international solidarity, we were able to rescue comrades trapped in conflict zones, bring them to safety, and assist them in adjusting to their new housing situations. We also helped others find shelter. Personally, during the war, I hosted more than three families of comrades, reinforcing the principle of solidarity until they were able to stabilize their situations.
Despite our limited resources, we exceeded our capacities significantly. Most of our comrades volunteered to serve the affected community and vulnerable groups such as children, women, and the elderly. With humanitarian aid being scarce and the crisis worsening, we had no other choice but to step up.
Additionally, it was essential to reflect the true causes, trajectory, and developments of the war from our anarchist perspective to the world. We also sought to defuse the tensions that warring factions aimed to escalate in order to fuel the conflict, by raising awareness about the nature of the war.
Another crucial aspect of our efforts was educating people about the dangers of war remnants and how to handle situations involving captivity, detention, starvation, injuries, and war-related waste.
Despite our lack of resources, we remain committed to our liberatory duty—spreading awareness in such complex circumstances. We hope to expand participation and broaden the scope of the struggle.
Anon – REMEMBER 2020, 1968, 1878, 1791 — WE CAN WIN
Sent in from: https://eflmemoire.substack.com/p/remember-2020-1968-1878-1791-we-can-win-cd147ea18bbc
Thousands of years of kings, queens, emperors, presidents, & ministers demanding obedience. 500 years of crackers enslaving & colonizing this planet. 250 years of anglo/yankee domination.
Trump this, Musk that. Democrats, Republicans, Zionists, Confederates, Fascists, Conservatives, Liberals, Progressives. So many flavors of the same expired bullshit.
2020: Cops executed George Floyd. A police station was burnt down. For a brief moment, the world opened up.
1968: White power executed MLK. Black communities erupted into rebellion. For a brief moment, the world opened up.
1878: Indigenous peoples in the South Pacific rose up in arms against european colonizers attempting to exterminate their communities & hijack their homelands. For a moment, the world opened up.
1791: Enslaved Africans & their descendants began an uprising in the Caribbean, destroying property, profit, & slavery. For a long moment, the world opened up.
Whether a handful of friends or a massive crowd, we know that the footsoldiers of every regime can be defeated. The secret is to begin.
In Memory Of Our Fallen; Let us turn their cities into funeral pyres.
In Memory Of Our Fighters; Let us honor your names with fire and gunpowder.
Peace By Piece
(A)
NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!
¡QUEREMOS UN MUNDO DONDE QUEPAN MUCHOS MUNDOS!
Look for those pushing and help them push harder.
Move together. Be water.
They can control a march of 10,000 — they can’t control 10 marches of 1000.
De-arrest. Don’t let people get grabbed.
If they do, don’t let their cars or busses leave.
They only care about money, so causing monetary losses is your only vote.
On the inside, the demonstration is an organism of care and support.
On the outside, it is ferocious and uncontrollable.
Without their toys they are powerless.
No one is coming to save us.
Everything is at stake.
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PDF Version also hosted on:
https://mtlcounterinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/akrata.pdf
https://phlanticap.noblogs.org/files/2025/04/akrata.pdf
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Nijjor Manush – Rise Of Far-Right: Our Streets [2024]
Taken with permission from: https://nijjormanush.com/rise-of-far-right
We think it’s worth noting that this piece, as far as we can tell, was the only thing penned by a diaspora community organisation that actually had an appropriate response to the fascists last summer.We read it at the time and it’s a foundational part of what we wanted to see more of and frankly, what we wanted the project that eventually became Muntjac to be able to do. However, we were more shy about copyright at the time and since we didn’t get the green light to repost it until a few months ago so it has sat in our drafts for about a year. It really ‘belongs’ inside Issue 1 of Muntjac but we really can’t be fucked spending more time playing around with the PDFs so if we ever do ‘muntjac the first 3 issues’ as a book we’ll include it as an afterword.
Enjoy.
White riots 2024: it was going to be a matter of when, not if
The scale of the far-right riots of the last few days have been shocking, but not surprising. British politics is saturated with anti-migrant, anti-asylum seeker politics, while Islamophobia still runs deep in British culture.
We have all witnessed the openly far-right venom of the previous government, and knew that the fascists would be waiting in the wings of the current one, especially given the success of Reform last month.
The new Labour government has wholly embraced the racist terms of the debate over immigration – promising a “blitz on illegal immigration” less than a fortnight ago, and to stopping small boat crossings in their manifesto.
Meanwhile it spent the last 4 years in opposition broadcasting its disdain for Muslim and racialised communities in its bid for the racist vote.
Now, in the name of fiscal ‘responsibility’ it has committed to austerity and public funding cuts which have been a breeding ground for the far-right since 2010.
It was a matter of when, not if.
The lessons from our history
Like countless other groups and organisers, Nijjor Manush have spent the last few days thinking through both the short-term need for mobilisation to defend our communities, as well as long-term organising to build our capacity to fight fascism.
This will necessarily be reactive now, but also requires political clarity going forward.
In doing so, some of us are returning back to the examples of Asian and Black self-organisation in postwar Britain.
But that history of Asian organising in Britain – our history of struggle – should not be invoked in vain.
There are clear lessons to be drawn from this history, and warnings to heed.
They include:
1) No surrender no retreat
2) We cannot rely on the police and state to protect us
3) Fascism must be defeated through organised political struggle
No surrender no retreat: ‘Staying home’ does not mean staying safe
We have seen calls from ‘community leaders’ as well as organic appeals asking people to stay home out of fear of encountering fascists targeting Black and Asian, migrant and/or Muslim individuals.
People have every right to be worried for themselves and their loved ones.
We understand that vulnerable and isolated communities may well choose to stay out of immediate harm’s way.
But staying home does not mean staying safe.
Far-right mobilisations in our communities are a show of force for the fascists to ‘claim’ our streets, to embolden them and give them license to terrorise us again and again.
They cannot be ignored or allowed to claim even symbolic victories, and wherever possible we must play a role in repelling them.
Our communities were won through struggle, and must be defended through struggle
Fascism must be defeated through organised political struggle
Keir Starmer’s law and order approach does something else: it conceals the politics of the fascists – and absolves the government’s responsibility to wage a political struggle against the far-right.
Writing the riots off as simply ‘far-right thuggery’ driven by social media lies allows them to be compartmentalised and cast out as ‘alien’ to British society.
And focusing on acts of violence and property damage in isolation, allows a shallow ‘both sides’ equivocation between fascists, and anti-fascists defending their communities.
But the politics motivating these riots – the anti-migrant agitation, the Islamophobia, and the racism – runs far deeper in British society, up through to its government.
It is not for no reason that some political figures have framed riots as having ‘legitimate concerns’, even while decrying their violence.
To rework an old phrase: What Farage says today, the Tories say tomorrow and Labour legislates on the day after.
Far-right mobilisations have long served as a ‘pressure group’ on British governments who concede to their demands while condemning their tactics.
The interconnection between domestic violence and British-backed violence abroad – of fascist demonstrators regularly waving the Israeli flag, of the British far-right defence of the British Army and empire, or of British police brutalising protestors against British-backed Israeli genocide – is also not coincidental.
British imperialism is, and always has been, the wellspring of British fascism – and the point of clearest alignment between the state and movements of the far-right.
In addition to repelling the fascists off our streets we need organised, principled political struggle against the politics that drives them – not opportunistic appeals to law and order policing to (temporarily) move the problem out of sight and mind.
What should we do now?
These have been dark days but there have been examples to take heart from.
We have seen places where fascists have been outnumbered and sent home bloodied. We have seen our communities come out to defend themselves rather than retreat.
But we must recognise the urgency of the situation.
We need to be linking with, working alongside and supporting those most directly targeted by these fascist attacks – migrants and asylum seekers, Muslims and racialised communities: those who have barely, if ever, get mentioned in the government’s PR statements.
This is especially important in the case of those living outside the heartlands and metropoles.
There are many fronts to antifascist struggle. Frontline defence of our communities against fascist mobilisations is vital. But we also need to build communications and networks of support among our communities, and to develop a broad-based layer of popular antifascist sentiment and action.
We also need sector-based efforts, including in workplaces and unions, as well as in sports and creative institutions.
It is not enough to argue against a policing solution: we must represent the tangible alternative infrastructure for supporting our communities.
The large networks of mobilisation and channels of communications that we have built up in our campaigns against Israel’s genocide can become the bases of confronting fascism going forward, as can our anti-raids, Copwatch and tenants union networks.
These can be networks of solidarity and support, as well as our eyes on the ground against any fascist movements locally.
We must also be prepared for police repression, including efforts to criminalise self-defence or equate those who choose those tactics with far-right violence.
This includes equipping our communities with rights training for counter-demonstrations, as well as staying coordinated with groups who can provided legal and arrestee support if required.
Finally, we must also struggle against the culture of collaboration among our community institutions.
This includes religious leaders and facilities who see the solution in greater presence of police in our mosques etc, who issue condemnation when our youth fight back, or work with state-aligned or funded groups like Tell Mama or HopeNotHate.
There are many fronts in the antifascist struggle and that means different tactics.
But self defence is no offence – and we will not throw anyone under the bus.
Whose streets – our streets
[April 19th] Solidarity Gig/Zine Launch for the Anti-Fascist Internationalist Front
We [Muntjac] won’t be there as a group but some copies of muntjac 1 will be on the stall. The text below is cut + paste from International Solidarity LDN’s socials.
**********
Follow International Solidarity LDN: https://www.instagram.com/p/DIBtEm_Iv5h/
Buy Tickets Here: https://www.outsavvy.com/event/26424/solidarity-gigzine-launch-for-the-anti-fascist-internationalist-front
‼️APRIL 19‼️
Come join us at the newly reopened Piehouse Co-op for a night of punk, jungle, dnb, dub, and more! This is a benefit for the new Antifascist Internationalist Front fighting against Myanmar’s fascist regime; all the money raised will go straight to support the revolution.
Hear a message from the AIF and some context from comrades in the struggle against the dictatorship in Myanmar
Live bands from 7.30-9
Restless Taxis
SexLoveFuckYou
639Distortion
DJs from 9-12.30
Body riot
Passer
JV
M.A.N.U
We will have AIF stickers available for donation to raise funds for the AIF. We will also be launching a zine at the event:
“Anti-Fascist Perspectives on Revolutionary Struggle in Myanmar: Dispatches from the Anti-Fascist Internationalist Front”
The zine features interviews with AIF members and revolutionaries in Myanmar, and presents a feminist and internationalist perspective.
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We now have a Mailing List!
We now have a mailing list, to follow it, you need to click this link: lists.riseup.net/www/info/muntjac
You will need to create an account with lists.riseup.net (this is a different thing to a riseup account and you can use any email address) and then sign up.
We won’t spam you but expect an email whenever we do something interesting.
Solidarity Committee for Indonesian Gelap – Ang Pahayag ng Pakiki-isa
Repost from: https://bandilangitim.xyz/library/solidarity-committee-for-indonesian-gelap-ang-pahayag-ng-pakiki-isa-tl
Ang Pahayag ng Pakiki-isa: Labanan ang Oligarkiyang Militar sa Indonesia at Tuligsain ang mga Dinastiya sa Timog Silangang Asya, Likhain ang Kapangyarihan sa Laylayan
Kami ay kaisa ng mga kapatid at kasama na Indonesian sa kanilang pakikibaka laban sa panunumbalik ng militar sa pamamahala. Iniuugnay namin ito sa kilusang masa sa Pilipinas at ng buong Timog-Silangang Asya na nakikibaka para sa tunay na kalayaan.
Labanan Ang Indonesian National Armed Forces Bill (UU TNI)
Karamihan sa pamayanan ng Timog Silangang Asya ay kasalukuyang nasa ilalim pa rin ng awtoritaryan at diktaduryang militar tulad ng sa Myanmar.
Sa Indonesia, mahigit dalawampung taon na ang nakaraan ay matagumpay na pinabagsak ng kilusang Reformasi ang diktaduryang militar. Ngunit nariyan pa rin ang saklaw ng militar sa sibilyan na kaayusan, at kamakailan ay nagnanais itong ikonsolida ang kanilang panunumbalik sa kapangyarihan. Dagdag pa rito, nais ng pamahalaan ng Indonesia, sa ilalim ng dating berdugo ni Suharto na si Prabowo, na bawasan ang badyet para sa edukasyon. Isa itong tahasang hakbang para mangmgangin ang mamamayan at ipakalimot ang dusang naranasan ng Indonesia sa ilalim ng 30 taong diktadurya. Kaya naman nitong huli ay muling nag-aklas ang mga mamamayang Indonesian upang tutulan ang UU TNI — ang batas na nagpapahintulot na makialam ang mga militar sa sibilyan na pamumuhay.
Sabay-sabay na nagprotesta sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng Indonesia ang mga mamamayan nito. Ang sigaw ng mga kabataan, magsasaka, manggagawa at maralita ay “Kita tidak butuh militer dalam urusan sipil!” —Hindi namin kailangan ang Militar na makialam sa aming pamumuhay.
Bakit Magkaugnay Ang Ating Pakikibaka?
Ang dating tambalang Marcos-Duterte at ang mga dinastiyang politiko sa Pilipinas ay hindi naiiba sa mga oligarkong militar sa Indonesia at Myanmar. Pareho nilang ayaw sa pananagutan at sagka din sila sa kalayaan at pag unlad ng karaniwang mamamayan. Ang kanilang modus ay panatilihing tagalimos lamang ang karaniwang mamamayan sa kanilang ayuda tuwing may sakuna o eleksyon para tuluyan nang hindi tayo makabangon sa pagkaka-utang na loob. Panay pangako ng pag-unlad ang naganap sa ilalim ng “Bagong Lipunan” ni Marcos Sr. (“Bagong Pilipinas” naman kina “Marcos-Duterte”) at “Orde Baru” ni Suharto. Pero sa dokumentadong katotohanan, bagsak na ekonomiya, dayuhang ganansya, mahal na bilihin, pananakot ng militar, at busal sa bibig ang mga kinahantungan ng mga pangakong ito. Ngayon, sa popular na pamumuno ni Prabowo, may maaasahan ba talagang pag-unlad gayong walang nagbago, gayong ang mga namumuno noon ay muli na namang namumuno ngayon?
Ang hinaing ng karaniwang Indonesian ay kadugtong ng ating hininga, malinaw itong nagsasabing ayaw na nating maging alipin sa predatoryang politika ng oligarkiya at dinastiya.
Dapat silang pabagsakin at kasabay nito ay napapanahon nang buohin ng malayang kilusang masa ang kapangyarihan sa bawat laylayan. Sa pamamagitan ng magkakaugnay na kapangyarihang lokal ay mabibigyan ng katuwiran ang buktot na pamamahala ng mga dinastiya at oligarko na matagal nang nang-aalipin saan mang dako ng karagatan.
BIGUIN ANG MILITARISMO AT PANGAKO NG PEKENG PAG-UNLAD!!
KALAYAAN MULA SA OLIGARKIYA AT DIKTADURYA!!
BAWIIN ANG KAPANGYARIHANG INAGAW NG MGA PAMAHALAAN!!
SOLIDARITAS KE RAKYAT!! PAKIKI-ISA SA MGA MAMAMAYAN!!
Kaisahang Komiteng para sa Indonesia Gelap/
Solidarity Committee for Indonesian Gelap
Donate
If you wish to donate to anarchists on the ground, we, the Solidarity Committee for Indonesian Gelap, trust and edorse the following PayPal details held by the Komite Pembentukan Perhimpunan Merdeka (formation committee for the Perhimpunan Merdeka anarchist federation): <Chitons@autistici.org>
Open Call: International Solidarity for Indonesian Democracy
Halt Indonesia’s Slide into Military Dictatorship—Repeal the Authoritarian TNI Law Before It’s Too Late!
We, Indonesian groups, organizations, activists, and individuals, raise our voices in outrage and condemnation as the Indonesian Parliament legalizes the revised Indonesian National Armed Forces Bill (UU TNI) today — 20.03.2025. This law marks a devastating blow to democracy, human rights, and civilian supremacy in Indonesia, signaling a dangerous shift toward militarism and the rise of neo-fascist tendencies reminiscent of the dark days of the Suharto regime.
The revised UU TNI, now enacted, grants the military unprecedented powers to intervene in law enforcement, counter-terrorism, and civilian affairs. This blatant militarization of Indonesian society threatens to dismantle decades of democratic progress, suppress dissent, and institutionalize human rights violations. By eroding the boundary between military and civilian roles, this law entrenches authoritarianism and undermines the very foundations of democracy.
We cannot ignore the historical parallels. Under Suharto’s military-backed dictatorship (1966–1998), Indonesia endured a brutal regime characterized by widespread human rights abuses, corruption, and the suppression of democracy. The military, or TNI, was a central pillar of Suharto’s authoritarian rule, acting as both a political enforcer and a tool of repression. The regime’s fascist tendencies silenced dissent, exploited resources for personal gain, and entrenched systemic corruption, leaving a legacy of trauma and injustice that Indonesians are still grappling with today.
The revised UU TNI risks reviving this dark chapter. By expanding the military’s role in civilian affairs, the law paves the way for a return to the militarism, corruption, and authoritarianism of the Suharto era. This is not just a step backward—it is a leap toward neo-fascism, where the military becomes a tool of oppression. A Dangerous Continuation of Militarism
The timing of this law is deeply alarming, given the political rise of Prabowo Subianto, a former military general with a controversial past. Prabowo, who served as a high-ranking officer under Suharto, has been implicated in numerous human rights abuses, including the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists in 1998 and atrocities in East Timor and Papua. His political ascension, now as Indonesia’s president, raises serious concerns about the resurgence of militarism and authoritarianism in the country.
Prabowo’s background as a military leader with close ties to the Suharto regime underscores the dangers of the revised UU TNI. His presidency, combined with the expanded powers granted to the military, creates a perfect storm for the erosion of democracy and the normalization of authoritarian practices. This law not only reflects Prabowo’s militaristic vision for Indonesia but also threatens to legitimize the use of military force against civilians, activists, and political opponents. We stand in unwavering solidarity with the people of Indonesia—students, activists, human rights defenders, and civil society organizations—who have courageously opposed this law. Our voices represent the aspirations of a free and democratic Indonesia, have been ignored by a government that prioritizes militarization over the will of its people.
We Demand Immediate Action:
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Repeal the Revised UU TNI Now: The Indonesian government must immediately revoke this dangerous law and halt all efforts to expand the military’s role in civilian life.
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Restore Civilian Control: The military must be subordinated to civilian authority, as required in any democratic society. Its role must be strictly limited to defending the nation from external threats.
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End Militarization and Protect Human Rights: The Indonesian government must ensure that the revised UU TNI is not used to suppress dissent, target activists, or violate human rights.
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Respect the People’s Resistance: The government must listen and obey to the millions of Indonesians who have protested this law and reject any attempt to silence their voices.
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Global Accountability: The international community must hold the Indonesian government accountable for the consequences of this law, including any human rights abuses or democratic backsliding.
Since this article was written, at least 19 cities have simultaneously held protest demonstrations following the enactment of the TNI Law on March 20, 2025: Jakarta, Bandung, Manado, Pekanbaru, Yogyakarta, Makassar, Padang, Pontianak, Semarang, Samarinda, Medan, Papua, Ambon, Surabaya, Malang, Lampung, Bali, Palembang, and Aceh. During these protests, there has also been excessive use of violence by the police. The targets of this violence were random, such as the general public, anarchists, students, journalists, and even online motorcycle drivers. Nearly every city that held protests experienced police violence. A news agency (TEMPO), known for its criticism of government policies and performance, was terrorized by receiving a package containing a severed pig’s head.
To the International Community:
The legalization of the revised UU TNI is not just an Indonesian problem—it is a global crisis. Indonesia plays a critical role in the fight for democracy and human rights in Southeast Asia and beyond, therefore, the rise of militarism and neo-fascism in Indonesia threatens regional stability and sets a dangerous precedent for authoritarian regimes worldwide.
The people of Indonesia have fought too hard and sacrificed too much for democracy to allow their country to slide back into the militarism, corruption, and authoritarianism of the Suharto era. We cannot remain silent as neo-fascism rises in Indonesia. Together, we must resist, fight back, and stand in solidarity with the people of Indonesia.
We call on the international community to:
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Condemn Indonesia’s Authoritarian Turn: Publicly denounce the revised UU TNI and its threat to democracy and human rights.
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Stand with Indonesian Civil Society: Support the brave activists, students, and organizations resisting militarization and fighting for democracy.
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Impose Consequences: Use diplomatic, economic, and political tools to pressure the Indonesian government to repeal this law and uphold democratic principles.
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Monitor and Expose Abuses: Document and expose any human rights violations or anti-democratic actions resulting from the implementation of this law.
Head over to the Indonesian embassy in your country and give them a heads-up, in whatever way you want.
We rise, not in silence, but in raging fire.
A wildfire of defiance, fueled by the love of freedom,
and the unyielding spirit of those who refuse to kneel.
This is not just a fight for Indonesia,
but a battle cry for every soul who dares to dream
of a world unchained, unbowed, unbroken.
We reject the chains of militarism,
the cold steel of authoritarianism,
and the suffocating grip of neo-fascism.
We are the voices of the oppressed,
the hands that build barricades,
the hearts that beat for anarchy—
the chaos, and the beautiful disorder of liberation.
We will not let the shadows of Suharto’s regime
darken the skies of tomorrow.
We will not let Prabowo’s militaristic dreams
trample the gardens of democracy.
We are the storm, the reckoning,
the ungovernable force that says:
Enough is enough.
To the tyrants, the enforcers, the architects of oppression:
Your walls will crumble,
Your laws will burn,
Your power will dissolve like ash in the wind.
For we are the people,
wild, untamed, and free.
And we will fight,
not just for Indonesia,
but for the boundless, anarchist love of freedom
that lives in us all.
A wildfire of defiance, fueled by the love of freedom,
and the unyielding spirit of those who refuse to kneel.
This is not just a fight for Indonesia,
but a battle cry for every soul who dares to dream
of a world unchained, unbowed, unbroken.
We reject the chains of militarism,
the cold steel of authoritarianism,
and the suffocating grip of neo-fascism.
We are the voices of the oppressed,
the hands that build barricades,
the hearts that beat for anarchy—
the chaos, and the beautiful disorder of liberation.
We will not let the shadows of Suharto’s regime
darken the skies of tomorrow.
We will not let Prabowo’s militaristic dreams
trample the gardens of democracy.
We are the storm, the reckoning,
the ungovernable force that says:
Enough is enough.
To the tyrants, the enforcers, the architects of oppression:
Your walls will crumble,
Your laws will burn,
Your power will dissolve like ash in the wind.
For we are the people,
wild, untamed, and free.
And we will fight,
not just for Indonesia,
but for the boundless, anarchist love of freedom
that lives in us all.
In Rage and Solidarity,
Indonesia
20.03.2025
Black Bloc Zone – Chronology of the Arrest of Three Anarchist Combatants in Makassar
Stolen From: https://blackbloczone.noblogs.org/post/2025/03/31/chronology-of-the-arrest-of-three-anarchist-combatants-in-makassar/
The arrest of three of our companions by the police occurred following the Molotov cocktail attack on the 705 Traffic Post (Poslantas), located at the intersection of AP Pettarani Street and Sultan Alauddin Street in Makassar, South Sulawesi. This action was a form of resistance against increasingly oppressive government policies, including the revision of the Military Law (UU TNI), which expands military control over civilian life. This is a regressive step that only deepens the repression of the people.
That night, our three companions approached Poslantas 705, fully aware that the state only understands the language of real resistance. The Molotov was thrown, the fire ignited, and in an instant, the police post became a symbol of warning that the people would not remain silent in the face of oppression. This act was not merely out of anger, but a message: the law enforced by the state is nothing more than a tool to maintain order that benefits a select few in power.
It did not take long for the authorities to respond. With all the resources and surveillance at their disposal, the police quickly pursued the perpetrators. The arrest operation was carried out systematically, utilizing monitoring technology and information from their networks. Our three companions were eventually apprehended, handcuffed, and taken to the police station for interrogation.
This arrest is part of the repressive pattern consistently employed by the state against anyone daring to challenge its authority. They seek to send a message that resistance must be silenced, that any form of disobedience will be met with violence and imprisonment. However, they forget one thing—the fire that burned that night did not only consume the police post, but also the spirit of resistance that will not be extinguished simply because a few individuals are confined behind bars.
Out there, solidarity will continue to pulse. They may have captured our companions, but the idea of liberating life from the shackles of the state and capitalism will continue to spread. As long as this system exists, resistance will persist.
LONG LIVE ANARCHY!
LONG LIVE THE PERSISTENCE OF INSURRECTION!
UNTIL ALL OF US ARE FREE!
KRONOLOGI PENANGKAPAN TIGA KAWAN ANARKIS DI MAKASSAR
Penangkapan yang dilakukan kepolisian terhadap tiga orang kawan kami terjadi setelah aksi pelemparan bom molotov di Pos Lalu Lintas (Poslantas) 705, yang terletak di pertigaan Jalan AP Pettarani – Sultan Alauddin, Makassar, Sulawesi Selatan. Aksi ini merupakan bentuk perlawanan terhadap kebijakan pemerintah yang semakin menindas, salah satunya revisi UU TNI yang memperluas kontrol militer dalam kehidupan sipil, sebuah langkah mundur yang hanya memperdalam represi terhadap rakyat.
Pada malam itu, ketiga kawan kami mendekati Poslantas 705 dengan penuh kesadaran bahwa negara hanya memahami bahasa perlawanan yang nyata. Molotov dilempar, api menyala, dan dalam sekejap pos polisi itu menjadi simbol peringatan bahwa masyarakat tidak akan diam atas segala bentuk represi. Aksi itu bukan sekadar amarah, tapi sebuah pesan: bahwa hukum yang ditegakkan negara tidak lain hanyalah alat untuk menjaga ketertiban yang menguntungkan segelintir penguasa.
Tak butuh waktu lama bagi aparat untuk merespons. Dengan segala sumber daya dan pengawasan yang mereka miliki, kepolisian segera memburu para pelaku. Operasi penangkapan dilakukan secara sistematis, menggunakan teknologi pemantauan dan informasi dari jaringan mereka. Tiga kawan kami akhirnya ditangkap, diborgol, dan dibawa ke kantor polisi untuk diinterogasi.
Penangkapan ini adalah bagian dari pola represif yang selalu dilakukan negara terhadap siapa pun yang berani menantang otoritasnya. Mereka ingin mengirimkan pesan bahwa perlawanan harus dibungkam, bahwa setiap bentuk ketidakpatuhan akan dibalas dengan kekerasan dan penjara. Tapi mereka lupa satu hal—api yang menyala malam itu tidak hanya membakar pos polisi, tapi juga semangat perlawanan yang tidak akan padam hanya karena beberapa orang dikurung di balik jeruji.
Di luar sana, solidaritas akan terus berdenyut. Kawan-kawan kami boleh mereka tangkap, tapi gagasan untuk membebaskan hidup dari belenggu negara dan kapital akan terus menyebar. Sebab selama sistem ini masih ada, perlawanan akan selalu berlanjut.
PANJANG UMUR ANARKI!
PANJANG UMUR PERLAWANAN DENGAN PEMBERONTAKAN!
HINGGA SEMUA BEBAS!