       Red & Black Revolution
 A magazine of libertarian communism

      Issue 1    October 1994

Produced by Workers Solidarity Movement

   ...Comment...

Over the last two decades anarchism has 
returned from the edge of extinction.  At 
a time when the rest of the left has been 
in decline anarchism has grown, re-
establishing itself in country after 
country.  However anarchism as a movement 
has never had a significant foothold in 
any of the English speaking countries 
(ES).  There were movements in the USA and 
London around the turn of the century but 
both of these were limited to the 
immigrant community and failed to survive 
after World War I.  Now that the 
authoritarian left has collapsed, the 
alternative that anarchism offers should 
be more attractive than ever.  However 
because of the perceived weakness of 
anarchist theory, and the fact that in the 
ES those using the label 'anarchist' are 
commonly anti-organisational and counter-
cultural in outlook, anarchism is not yet 
looked at seriously by those seeking 
alternative politics.

In addition many of the small anarchist 
groups that exist are going through a 
mini-crisis.  For too long they have seen 
themselves solely as an opposition to the 
rest of the left, a voice in the 
wilderness.  There has been no real 
thought of how to become the major 
organising force for revolution.  This has 
generated a lack of seriousness reflected 
in sloppy politics and the absence of co-
ordinated intervention in struggles.

These are the audiences we are seeking to 
address in this new publication, Red & 
Black Revolution.  We will be talking 
about the sort of politics the left needs 
in order to succeed in changing the world.  
We will be arguing for anarchism with 
those looking for a new direction for the 
left.  We will be advocating a particular 
tendency in anarchism, most commonly 
called 'Platformism' after the 1926 
publication "The Organisational Platform 
of the Libertarian Communists".  We will 
be discussing our concrete experience of 
campaigns in Ireland, experiences we feel 
have lessons for activists everywhere.  We 
will be bringing in-depth features on the 
international movement, that will attempt 
to give a flavour of the broader picture 
of the anarchist movement.  Through the 
combination of this work we hope to 
encourage a new direction not only in left 
politics in the ES but also of anarchist 
politics.

In this issue we look at the state of the 
left today, why it is in this state and 
how to get out of it.  Describing the 
crisis of the left is the easy part and 
has been done elsewhere by ourselves and 
others.  Uprooting the causes beyond the 
superficial ones is more difficult.  We 
identify the cause in the authoritarian 
practise and theory of the left.  Freedom 
is identified as a key concept much 
neglected by the left but one that is 
central to change.  The right has managed 
to appropriate the buzzwords of freedom, 
choice, and democracy despite the fact 
that these are things few of us encounter 
in our day-to-day lives.  For the left to 
reclaim them it is first necessary to 
demolish the 'free world' edifice 
constructed by the right.  We start this 
process by examining the role of 
parliamentary 'democracy' in the 
developing world.

A movement capable of overthrowing 
capitalism is yet to be built.  But there 
are movements arising or continuing that 
incorporate some of the necessary 
features.  These are powerful indicators 
of the possible.  Anarcho-syndicalism 
represents perhaps the oldest surviving 
example available.  The rebellion in 
southern Mexico would seem to represent 
the most recent.  We also look at an 
attempt to challenge the domination of 
Irish trade unions by bureaucratic deals.  
It is by understanding the potential and 
also the problems of such movements that 
we can begin to see what is required.

So welcome to a new publication.  We hope 
you find our work useful, we don't claim 
to know all the answers, rather we are 
exploring with you the possibilities of 
change.  Change is our goal, not just of 
the left but of the world.

************'

        Contents

   Ashes to Phoenix
It has become something  of a cliche is 
say the left is dead.  But few have 
explained this supposed death.  New 
organisations have arisen in recent years 
that claim to be avoiding the mistakes of 
the past.  How true is this claim?  Andrew 
Flood examines the evidence and comes up 
with some disturbing conclusions.

   Time to be constructive
The left to-day, demoralised by its 
collapse is without focus or direction.  
Anarchism given its anti-authoritarian 
tradition should be able to offer a way 
forward.  But many are reluctant to take 
up anarchism, Andrew Flood looks at some 
of the reasons why this is so and suggests 
the key organisational ideas needed for a 
new anarchist movement.

   Lessons of Trade Union Fightback
Following the vote on the Programme for 
Competitiveness and Work at the end of 
March, the Trade Union Fightback (TUF) 
campaign was wound up.  Here Gregor Kerr, 
an INTO member who was secretary of TUF, 
looks at the history and lessons of the 
campaign.

   Freedom & Revolution
Does the end justify the means?   Many on 
the left belive so.  Aileen O'Carroll  
argues that the means used play a part in 
creating  the end that is achieved.  The 
best example of this is the Russian 
Revolution of 1917.

   Marx & the state
Some Marxists claim Marx was a 
libertarian, and Leninism and social 
democracy are not really Marxist.  But in 
doing so they ignore the anarchist 
critique of Marx's political  ideas on the 
state, the party and the organisation of a 
socialist revolution.  Conor Mc Loughlin 
looks at the contradictions within Marx's 
political writings.

   Syndicalism : Its strengths &
           weaknesses
The main organisational form in 
libertarian politics today is syndicalism.  
Alan MacSimon, a delegate to Dublin 
Council of Trade Unions who has  also 
attended a European gathering of 
revolutionary unions looks at the 
potential, and limits, of syndicalism.

    Review:
Democracy has broken out in a range of 
countries in recent years - Guatemala, S. 
Korea and Argentina to name but a few.  
But, what is the reality?  Kevin Doyle 
looks at a book that takes a more critical 
eye.

    The EZLN
On New Years Day of '94 people awoke to 
the news that four towns in the south-
eastern state of Chiapas had been taken 
over by a group calling itself the 
Zapatista National Liberation Army.  
Dermot Sreenan, who recently presented a 
talk on the EZLN and organised a picket of 
the Mexican embassy in January '94, looks 
at the politics and history of the EZLN.

