Some of us went up to Brisbane to the Live and Let DIY festival (February 1st-3rd) to do a workshop on the proposed regional anarchist federation.
We focused on questions of why a federation and how would it occur (through a foundation convergence) & operate
Minutes
Attendance about 20 people, including peeps from Anarchist Direct Action & Mutiny & Black Rose.
- Anarchist federation: not the movement, rather an attempt to have better organizing amongst a small group of people
- not interested so much in personal political identity (of whether you define yourself as an anarchist), but in whether you agree with the minimum common politics…
Common politics (so far):
- Seek the abolition of capitalism and class society in all its forms.
- Support an organisational philosophy based on decentralisation, mutual aid and autonomy, and reject domination and hierarchical/authoritarian organising.
- Oppose all forms of oppression and power over others and recognise that these rarely play out in isolation but are strongly interwoven and connected.
- Believe that an anarchist society is desirable, necessary and possible. Revolutionary change isn’t going to come from leaders, experts or professional activists but can only come from below: from the collective self-organisation of ‘ordinary’ people.
- Believe in solidarity across and against borders and are internationalists. We reject the state and all its functions such as the police and military.
Why
v to begin organizing much more effectively than anarchists do at the moment, socialists have the party: anarchists don’t have an explicit form of organization
v How do we move beyond summit protests: recently there hasn’t been enough planning, organizing & communication
v how can we organize on a large-scale basis in Australia. Make the work more efficient-don’t have to repeat the same errors that have been made by other collectives throughout the region
v How do we self-organise; how do we have more co-ordinated trainings, continuity, across the movement, instead of reinventing the wheel every 5 years.
· not an anarchist but still interested-revolutionaries have to take up the attrification of the Left & left institutions-not just building the Federation.
Have to be:
· challenging class composition
· understanding the nature of how we are exploited, how can we deal with new ideologies that capitalism has produced, looming crises-enviro & recession-what is meaningful collective organising
· Trots argue that you ‘build the party’. Most important point is ‘what is meaningful revolutionary activity’-building an organization that doesn’t just expand.
Who was at previous Sydney meeting: Wollongong Autonomous Action, individuals, Alarm, Jura, Black Rose, Mutiny….
How would Federation/ convergence work
Federation convergence: could be lengthy introductions, sharing of information, what we do, who we are
-Modified spokescouncil basis.
-working on 100% consensus is going to work-will have to operate on some voting basis (e.g 80%)
-Need to have Safer spaces discussion
Whether to have Individuals or groups in federation
-depends on whether you’re having a spokescouncil, or just a consensus-based process.
-danger of group-based process; that it comes off as elitist and exclusive, rather than welcoming and allowing full participation
ADA reportback: main problem with individuals, is that they can disrupt consensus, a random person can stop decision-making process.
-Reality however is that there are a lot of individuals atm.
-Would like there to be a clearly mapped out process to negotiate this tension. Need to have support for new groups to be initiated.
-also don’t want to have false affinity groups in existence that don’t really operate under any political commonality
-How can individuals have a say.
-Problem is that there are only a few groups that have systematic political discussion. In Sydney collective is Inner-City based, Mutiny.
-Individuals should be encouraged to come to the convergence-would find it alienating & cliquey if only groups were asked to come. Maybe have a place for individuals to meet up & share ideas and points.
Ideas for convergence: how can common politics be discussed, as well as streamed alongside more practical stuff.
-Idea in Sydney-to focus initially on ‘what we have in common’ & what we can achieve together rather than on what we disagree.
-can do lots of skillsharing & discussion how can we construct activities, skiilshares, workshops, stuff for people to do. (e.g like ASEN-the Australian Student Environment Network)
- Discussion around what is radical/revolutionary politics in the here & now-in Australia-what does that mean
What does the Federation do
-Forming ad-hoc working groups
-Should be an organic process, a platform for groups & individuals to network
-Convergence in itself-building autonomous action, avoiding the summit protest routine
-Talk about collectively what you can do- cross-pollination can happen..Convergence is a valid form of action on its own merits.
-ACDC (Alliance for Civil Disobedience Coordination) in Melbourne broad civil disobedience alliance for revolutionaries…How would it relate to that…
- We should be porous to the outside world-groups ‘put up the boundaries’ rather than being integrated into social struggles that are going on.
-Shared ideas-can we be freed from the city as a basis of organizing. This could be true for the production of a publication.
-Could be creating an excessive moment-might come up with something that’s better than affinity groups & spokescouncils-want to constantly challenge ourselves to come up with new ways of organizing.
-Again, a chance to go beyond summit protests-don’t have to be obsessed with actions-important for people to get together & talk about ways of making revolutionary action effective
Conclusion/sum up time…
-Really exciting! Led to Mutiny having discussion about strategy, about plans…
-Should be a fun party.
-Call-out for a reader-could be productive-would need a certain amount of time…
-Grievance, Food, Fundraiser, try and outsource process…someone else can compile reader….
-Can be discussed on e-mail. Questions around access are important…everyone should have the ability to make an input around our movement.
To have a central place-where people are meeting can reportback, can here about what’s going on.
-In embryonic stages, just get as many people there, get the word out.., exciting to hear that things are happening in anarchy today..
-main focus of DIY isn’t current bands, but issues, see you in Melbourne!
