EVOLVING OUR RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CRISIS, MILITARISATION, AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ~ Salvo Vaccaro, Umanità Nova ~ Not possessing prophetic visions, it will be difficult to predict what forms anarchism will take in the 21st century, as this depends on the geographical, cultural, political, social, and temporal context. Undoubtedly, struggles for the expansion of spaces of freedom, equality in differences, and solidarity—individual and collective—(including and especially among strangers) will always constitute the axes around which the specifically appropriate forms and modes of conflict will revolve, depending on the context of anarchism, or rather anarchisms. I will briefly focus on three global scenarios, not alternatives, but rather intersecting yet not hierarchically descending, within which twenty-first-century anarchists will strive to identify the best forms of action. There is clearly a fourth, linked to gender issues, but other contributions will provide us with general and specific features and contextual objectives of struggle. Of course, these scenarios do not exclude or downplay the more common, more everyday, and perhaps more local spheres of struggle, whose importance is crucial to our rooting in the territories where we live. However, in my opinion, global scenarios will also “over-determine” local or traditional conflicts, changing their forms and modalities and imparting, in my view, significant twists. The first is climate change, which alters the planet’s living conditions, jeopardising the survival of its ecosystems, with the risk of demographic conflicts, migratory movements, and the violent exploitation of resources (fertile land, water), etc. The nomadism typical (and even original) of the human species cannot be stopped by state or “natural” borders, such will be the pressure of migration in search of better living conditions. If the pace of exploitation of humanity’s resources (land and water, first and foremost) is not reversed, increasingly bloody conflicts will erupt, considering that half the world’s population is of working age, and a quarter of them live in rural areas, where 80% of global poverty exists. This is without considering the informal, obscure, and invisible work that escapes ILO or World Bank statistics. In these conditions, which it would be unworthy to call “emergency”—so endemic and reiterated are they by the dynamics of power and inequality on a global scale—the approach to problems can only hinge on bottom-up self-organisation, to mitigate the destructive effects of current climate policies pursued by unscrupulous state and business elites. It is from this practice of solidarity and self-organisation that an anarchist ethos is forged: a training ground for creativity in horizontal problem-solving that will gradually extend to the complete reorganisation of social life according to libertarian practices and attitudes. It is therefore time for the livability of and on our planet to enter the political agenda of social anarchism with determination, since we cannot count on being among the elite who will migrate to the Moon or Mars following Elon Musk & Co. The second global scenario is the recourse to war as a challenge to global hegemony in the 21st century, with the risks of nuclear annihilation and mass extermination. Already at the close of the last millennium, many American scholars were questioning which would be the hegemonic power in the second half of the 21st century, seeing China and its allies (including Russia) as the most likely competitor against which to pursue policies of containment and aggressive counterbalancing. It’s not difficult to imagine the same in China, only that analyses and studies are not easily accessible, let alone legible. After all, history has never seen smooth and peaceful successions of global hegemony—quite the opposite. It is no coincidence, then, and not just today, that we are witnessing a growing militarisation of societies, which already directly results in the disintegration of hard-won “rights,” even without losing the pretence of (pseudo)democratic representation, with the reduction of constitutional states to electoral-parliamentary autocracies. Freedom of action, speech, expression, the ability to shape one’s life as one sees fit, and the ability to adopt non-conformist customs and traditions are all practices wrested with difficulty from previous generations and, in some cases, from the living. Whether they are constitutionalised or translated into legal norms is of little importance: positive law grants and takes away based on more or less strengthened parliamentary majorities. The path will make the difference. By militarisation, we must not and cannot merely evoke the visible presence of signs of armed power (army, police forces, armaments, war industries, etc.). We must address the internalisation of a warmongering and bellicose culture, which arms consciences from a very young age, pressuring them with violent models for solving everyday problems and overcoming the obstacles that life throws at us at every step. Cultural models in which violence is exalted because it is simulated—game over, and we begin again—life as a video game in which you kill and are killed, but then you rise again in a limitless and infinite fight. It is no coincidence that entertainment video games fuel and are in turn fueled by military simulations, by autonomous and automatic weaponry that transform war in its forms, anaesthetising its wounds and physical traumas and transferring them to a psychic sphere. This is at least for those who attack from a position of technological supremacy, not for those who suffer its effects, as every victim of war knows. We must not underestimate or minimise the hybrid militarisation that insinuates itself from cyberspace into our pockets via digital devices. These devices are not only the source of capitalist surveillance for commercial marketing purposes, but also, and above all, the control exerted by governments and private companies, which now possess an infinite amount of knowledge related to our tastes, our actions, our physical and virtual experiences, which are transformed into numerical data easily processed by algorithms, resulting in a unique mass profiling —and this may not sound contradictory—that is useful for predicting and even guiding our future behaviour. Which brings us to the third global scenario: the advent of digital technologies, and AI specifically, which is literally revolutionising the way of life in our societies, not only in the areas of living labour, which can be replaced by robots and various machines, nor only in the ways in which “political” opinions are channelled during elections. The split between the corporeal, “real” sphere and the “virtual” dimension, whose effects are just as real, intertwine, delineating the formation of a subjectivity very different from the one we have become accustomed to on the material terrain of social classes and the balance of power. In an era of extreme individualism, advocated and encouraged by the neoliberal policies of recent decades, the collective sphere has shattered to be “resurrected” in the relationship between the self and the screen of my digital device; Physical sociality has in some ways evaporated in favour of a virtual “sociality,” managed by proprietary platforms, within which a fiction of communication and dialogue is enacted with just as many other selves, each connected via their own screen. The fiction of having a following of followers, of having tons of friends: in effect, we are unknowingly immersed in a bubble, within which my opinions resonate, becoming convictions as soon as I see them confirmed by others who think exactly like me. The end of the pluralism of ideas, excluded from echo chambers, the end of the emergence of dissent, the end of dialectical confrontation between different people. And when these virtual expulsions resurface in the space-time of corporeal existence, being unaccustomed of relating to different others turns into gratuitous, senseless, unexpected violence, except as a “defensive” form of a psychology devoid of real sociality, precisely because it is imbued with “social” surrogates. Neoliberal individualism, further translocated into the digital universe, produces conformist individuals, diversified replicas of a machine matrix whose limits and technological advances we have likely become prostheses, experimentally testing. We think we are the ones using the devices, but perhaps it’s precisely the opposite. Outside of any community of reference, disoriented and tossed from one platform to another, what kind of subjectivity will ultimately consolidate? What community could give rise to the communism of goods and services? What critical and diverse subject could emerge in the increasingly pressing relationship between the human and the machine? The new ways in which we feel we are subjects of ourselves, aware and critical of reality, push us to deepen and diversify our analytical tools, to seize new opportunities for “social(i)” connections from which we can reconstitute a strong destituent community capable of imagining and therefore experimenting with collective utopias organized around the pivot of the absence of power. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Machine translation. Summary of a presentation at the Carrara Conference (11-12 October 2025) on occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Italian Anarchist Federation. The post 21st-century anarchism appeared first on Freedom News.

AGAINST A STATE THAT WILL NEVER RESOLVE CLIMATE CHAOS, AND ITS VIOLENCE WHICH FORCE CANNOT OVERTHROW TODAY, WHAT REMAINS FOR ENVIRONMENTALISTS? ~ Vincent Lucchese, Reporterre ~ The myth that the state serves the public interest is crumbling on all sides. Seeing the state stubbornly defend projects as economically and environmentally disastrous as the A69 motorway, and witnessing its police unleash violence against opponents of ecocidal private mega-reservoir projects, more and more environmental activists are becoming disillusioned. For citizens who are abruptly learning to “mourn the state,” a series of essays and books in recent months have contributed to dusting off this hypothesis: what if it were possible. At the heart of anarchist thinking for two centuries, this idea is making a strong comeback today, given the obvious impasse of other possible paths. On one hand, the reformist path, that is to say the social-democratic project of reforming capitalism from within to make it socially and environmentally viable, is ‘doubly dead, doubly zombie-like’, as Alessandro Pignocchi sums up in his fascinating Perspectives terrestres (Seuil, 2025). The author continues, the ecological crisis ‘sweeps away the philanthropic belief at the heart of the social democratic project’ of possible infinite economic growth which promised the elevation of all social classes within the capitalist regime. The realisation that this crisis is precisely caused by the economic structures that ensure the ruling class’s dominance is radicalising other social classes. The capitalist elite is tightening the screws to protect its faltering model, rendering any prospect of social-democratic compromise obsolete. On the other hand, the revolutionary perspective is hardly any better. Past experiences have revealed its two symmetrical pitfalls: overthrowing the ruling power requires comparable armed force, which if inadequate, risks being swept away as brutally as the Paris Commune was in 1871. When this proves sufficient, it threatens to lead to a ‘capture phenomenon’, meaning that the new power itself serves only its own particular interests, as was the case in the USSR, Maoist China, and after the Arab Spring. A STATE THAT CANNOT BE REFORMED OR OVERTHROWN The observation of this double impasse, of a state that can neither be reformed or overthrown, is shared by Irish philosopher John Holloway, whose latest book has just been translated into French: Penser l’espoir en des temps désespérés (Thinking Hope in Desperate Times, Libertalia, 2025). He adds this definitive analysis: the state is, by its very nature, at the service of capitalism, and trying to make it an ally is a complete waste of time. The modern state, he explains, survives only through the taxes it levies on capital accumulation. Its mission and survival are, therefore, intrinsically linked to capitalists’ insatiable quest for accumulation. John Holloway develops an argument that follows in the long tradition of analyses by thinkers of the “capitalist state”, which was already clearly summarised by the American sociologist Erik Olin Wright (Anti-Capitalist Strategies for the 21st Century, La Découverte, 2020). Historically, he explains, the state can be described as the institutional form that has been deployed to ensure the reproduction of capital: the “rule of law” guarantees the inviolability of private property — largely derived from the appropriation of commons, colonisation, and the exploitation of workers and nature — and its capitalist development within the market framework. The Paris Commune ended in the large-scale massacre of the Communards by the Versailles army. After Félix Philippoteaux (1815-1884), Public domain Furthermore, the mechanisms for recruiting state elites create a privileged caste and a convergence of interests between them and the capitalist elites, to the detriment of the general interest. It is an understatement to say that the political dynamics of recent years have provided fertile ground for this type of analysis. We are witnessing a rise in “illiberalism” in France and many other so-called democratic states, fuelled by media propaganda from far-right billionaires. Across the Atlantic, the capitalist barons of American tech are openly allying themselves with the proto-fascist power of Donald Trump. All of this supports the thesis that capitalist states are becoming more authoritarian as the scarcity of natural resources and crises caused by climate change make governing populations more uncertain. RETURN TO THE LOCAL So what can be done? These authors suggest competing with the state by building on local roots and local struggles. From a strategic perspective, this is first and foremost a quest for autonomy: developing local subsistence agriculture and reclaiming technical know-how to reduce dependence on the state is a prerequisite for resisting it. ‘Material autonomy and political autonomy reinforce each other,’ summarises Pignocchi. For him, ‘liberating territories is therefore the first condition’ for moving towards what he calls ‘terrestrial perspectives’. Namely, a political project based on local autonomy and the renewal of ties with non-human living beings. The virtues of this approach are its broad potential to mobilise people in a unifying struggle based on love for the land, the rediscovery of powerful and joyful emotions in connection with living things, and values of respect, care and coexistence between species and between humans. It places the dynamic at the opposite end of the spectrum from reactionary localism. In practice, this strategy works and is even becoming increasingly widespread. This is what journalist Juliette Duquesne recounts in her comprehensive investigation, Autonomes et solidaires pour le vivant, S’organiser sans l’autorité de l’État (Le Bord de l’eau, 2025). From the French ZADs (Zone à Défendre) of Notre-Dame-des-Landes (Loire-Atlantique) and Les Lentillères (Dijon) to the long-term experience of Longo Maï, the Zapatistas of Chiapas in Mexico and the Kurds of Rojava, among others, she has documented and examined numerous experiences of struggle. Her proposition: the conditions for victory are complex and constantly need to be reinvented, but it is possible to organise without the state. Historically, anarchism has already proven its organisational viability on a large scale, she points out, recalling the little-known Spanish experiment of 1936, ‘often forgotten in history books because it was denigrated by capitalists and communists’. From July 1936 to spring 1937, Juliette Duquesne summarises, 3 million people in Catalonia and Aragon reinvented collective life without a state: collectivised economic activities, self-managed education and health systems, communities with local currencies, and others abolishing money altogether. A cultural, social, anarcho-syndicalist and political context unique to Spain at that time allowed for this profusion of experimentation, before the civil war and then Francoism brought this adventure to a tragic end. Among the lesser-known achievements, the Makhnovshchina, the anarchist Ukraine between 1917 and 1921, is also worth mentioning. The victories of the ‘Black Army’, a peasant and worker guerrilla force, against reactionary forces enabled the establishment of agricultural communes throughout the country. A lack of military resources and Soviet repression brought this large-scale libertarian and egalitarian experiment to an end. Anita Garbín Alonso, anti-fascist and anarchist militiawoman in Barcelona in 1936. Antoni Campañà i Bandranas, Public domain Ecological and social emancipation may work locally, but can it be generalised? ‘Imagining that we can stop the ravages of accumulation by multiplying the number of ZADs is probably no more serious than thinking we can stop global warming by accumulating small gestures,’ noted The Earth Uprisings (Les Soulèvements de la Terre) in their strategic work Premières secousses (First Shocks, La Fabrique, 2024). ” ‘Unless, perhaps,‘ they continue, ’we connect the dots.‘ This is the idea towards which all the authors mentioned converge: the “territories liberated” from the state, even partially, if they multiply and unite, could reach a critical mass sufficient to compete with, or at least undermine, the sovereign authority of the state. KAIROS For Alessandro Pignocchi, it is a question of ‘piercing’ the state with autonomous territories, of ‘gradually building something parallel to capitalism’, united within a ‘terrestrial internationalism’. Juliette Duquesne writes that ‘contagion must spread through capillary action’ so that ‘the state and capitalism become increasingly marginalised’ until they reach a ‘threshold’ that allows for a turning point. In other words: the exit from capitalism and the entry into a true democracy. Obviously, the state will not allow itself to be attacked without reacting: the fierce repression of the ZADs at Notre-Dame-des-Landes is a prime example. But, paradoxically, it is also proof that victory is possible if anarchist activists know how to seize the kairos, that is, take advantage of favourable circumstances. This is the other essential strategic lever. Pignocchi, Duquesne and Wright agree with the conclusion reached by the Earth Uprisings: achieving autonomy outside the state requires allies within the state. It is necessary to hybridise the state, rely on civil servants or elected officials who sympathise with the cause, and take advantage of the electoral victories of the least hostile political forces to gain the advantage in the conquest of territories. The task, however, seems monumental. It may well inspire scepticism given that the eco-anarchist and sustainable overthrow of a capitalist state has never historically taken place. To avoid the pitfall of discouragement, John Holloway emphasises that this capitalist state is a colossus with feet of clay. Throughout the lengthy and sometimes complex development of his work, the philosopher reinterprets Marxist theory on the internal contradictions of capitalism. Capitalism’s insatiable need for accumulation drives it to transform everything into commodities and, ultimately, into money. However, this need to exploit humans and nature ever more intensely is now coming up against physical limits, as evidenced by the ecological crisis. The fall of the Vendôme Column, bearing the statue of Napoleon I , during the Paris Commune, Lithograph from 1871, Public domain In recent decades the need for constant accumulation, vital to prevent the system from collapsing, has been partly met with empty promises. Unable to find sufficient human and natural ‘resources’ to exploit, explains the author, the elites have accumulated ‘fictitious capital’ through the massive issuance of money derived from the creation of debt. Capitalism today is in the same situation as the cartoon coyote, which has long since passed the edge of the cliff, is running over the void, and must keep running to avoid falling. The dismantling of social gains, police violence, open conflicts: everything is being done in a desperate attempt to coerce workers and increase profit margins. But our hope lies here, writes John Holloway: in the realisation that it is our refusal to accept absolute commodification, our desires overflowing with vitality, that is what holds back and frightens capitalism. Global finance, subject to increasingly intense “heart attacks”, such as the financial crisis of 2008, could well succumb definitively to the next one. He concludes: ‘We are not victims of the crisis but its protagonists: our resistance and rebellion, our insubordination and non-subordination, our refusal to be robots. This is what constantly upsets capital. In these desperate times, this is our hope.’ He calls for daring to embrace radical ambition: to think and act for a world without capital, and therefore without money. To those who see these projects as unrealistic or overly distant utopias, these contemporary anarchist authors concede that the path they are charting is far from clear and that their horizon is taking shape as they go. But their struggles, they argue, have the advantage of being very concrete, since each person must begin by taking action in their own territory to defend their forest, their dignity at work, or their drinking water, here and now. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Machine translation. Top photo: A pirate sheep as a shepherd’s mark, in a Longo Maï flock. Sébastien Thébault / Wikimedia Commons     The post Anarchism: Last hope for the Environment appeared first on Freedom News.

TWO YEARS OF ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS RAISE QUESTIONS ABOUT ORGANISING AROUND COLLECTIVE STRUGGLES ~ Antti Rautiainen ~ The current government of Finland has been called the most right-wing administration in the country’s political history. It formed in 2023 through a coalition of the centre-right National Coalition Party, the far-right populist party Perussuomalaiset (The Finn’s), the Swedish People’s Party, and the Christian Democrats. The integration of dissenting parties into unorthodox coalitions has been a long tradition in Finnish politics. Under the current government Finland has become a testing ground for the incorporation of anti-immigrant, right-wing populism into national politics. Since the election, anarchists and radical left organisations formed coalitions around common struggles heightened by the new government. In 2025 anarchists have made attempts to resume the anti-government protests however, but have failed to reach beyond anarchist and radical left circles. The question raised across the two years of organising is, how to struggle together against conditions of economic stagnation and decline? The context of Finnish politics is an economy hit by several crises at once. Finland’s economy has not recovered since the 2010’s which brought the Eurocrisis and the collapse of Nokia, a company which generated up to 5% of GDP. There is also a continuous decline in traditional exporting industry, made worse by the full-scale war in Russia, and a population aging faster than average. In 2023 the centre-left coalition was defeated by a narrow margin and the neoliberal National Coalition Party quickly found a common language with far-right populists, offering term of ‘you are free to bash migrants as long as we may bash the trade unions.’ The four-party coalition has set up a government program of austerity. This includes budget cuts to every sector except defence, tax cuts for the rich, and various anti-migrant policies to appease the right-wing populists. Within weeks of the new government forming, two of the biggest anti-government street demonstrations erupted. Nazi jokes made by the Minister of Economic Affairs, Vilhelm Junnila, alongside his speech at a fascist demonstration was reported by the national media. This scandal and the general shock at the inclusion of the far-right populists into the government sparked the ‘Zero Tolerance Against Fascism’ demonstration, attended by 10,000 people on 19 July 2023. In September 15,000 people gathered for the ‘We Won’t Be Silent’ demonstration, demanding the resignation of racists and fascists from the government. Although Junnila resigned, the vague demand of opposing racism was neatly resolved by the government promising to create a position paper on the topic. Already by mid-September 2023, vast majority of the liberal contingent of the anti-racist protest disappeared from the streets and has not been seen since. However, the anti-government movement was far from over. At the September demonstration anarchists joined with a banner stating ‘If something is to be cut, let’s cut the head of Petteri and Riikka’ referring to the austerity cuts by premier Petteri Orpo and state treasurer, and chairperson of Perussuomalaiset, Riikka Purra. The slogan, originally an adaptation of the UK newspaper Class War cover ‘The Best Cut Of All’ protesting Thatcher’s cuts, provoked media uproar. The backlash successfully sidelined the anti-racists agenda of the demonstration, and protest organisers publicly distanced themselves from the anarchist collectives. No other groups made much effort to introduce wider social issues into the liberal anti-racist mood of the movement. We Won’t Be Silent demonstration, 3rd September 2023 The summer of 2023 also saw a coalition between five Helsinki-based ultra-left groups swiftly created. This included A-ryhmä (a local anarchist groups since 2006), Extinction Rebellion, and three groups inspired by autonomous Marxism. Extinction Rebellion, established a week after the original UK group, brought more activists than the others combined. Together they organised the ‘Hands off!’ demonstration timed to match the government’s budget negotiations on 19 September 2023. The four major demands were to halt budget cuts, defend right to asylum, defend the right to strike, and the protection of biodiversity. Hands off! Demonstration, 19 September 2023 The demonstration drew 600 participants and was considered unsuccessful. The most likely reasons it failed to draw similar sized crowds as the ‘We Won’t Be Silent’ demonstration a week earlier was an inconsistent promise to blockade a government building, to narrow a coalition, horrible weather, and lack of widespread promotion. It is also representative of the fragmentation of anti-government protest. The day for ‘Hands Off!’ was also the launch date for students occupying Helsinki University’s main building, opposing the cuts to education and student welfare. The movement eventually spread to 16 higher education institutions and 10 high schools/trade schools. They failed to raise demands wider than their immediate self-interest, and the occupation failed to achieve their goals. Additionally, the Palestinian solidarity movement has been a major focus for anti-government protest. Although the Christian Zionist movement has traditionally been stronger in Finland than support for Palestine, this is no longer the case. In 2023 demonstration against the genocide in Gaza occurred almost weekly and have not dwindled in the two years of the right-wing government. The protests created a government crisis to recognise Palestinian statehood, however under pressure from the Christian Democrats and Perussuomalaiset the prime minister could not pursue it. With so many mobilisations, participants spread thin, unity was elusive. Meanwhile, the government pressed on with its agenda. One of the biggest challenges to the right-wing government came from the trade unions. In December 2023 the unions launched the direct-action campaign, ‘Painava SYY’ (Serious Cause) which rejected many of the government’s reforms including: cuts to unemployment and benefits, restricting political strikes to one day, and changes to contracts which would limit pay rises and weaken employment security. From the three central unions, SAK, STTK, and Akava, only SAK undertook serious strikes action, organising rolling-one day strikes across industries. This culminated in a one-month port strike between March-April 2024. This was expected to halt foreign trade and result in serious disruption, however there no major industry shutdowns. Due to decreasing opinion polls in support of strike action, or the lack of willingness to really rock the boat, SKA ended the campaign before imposing a general strike and won slightly less strict changes to employee’s contracts. As the unions chickened out, anarchists continued to call for a general strike. The ‘Hands-Off!’ coalition organised an event to discuss the history of a general strike in Finland and gathered 400 people in a general strike bloc at the Mayday marches of the unions and left-wing parties. This reached further than the usual anarchist circles, but failed to instigate a general strike. Throughout 2023-2024, ultra-left coalitions remained active in anti-government and anti-fascist organising. A coalition between A-ryhmä, anti-fascist Varis network, and Left Youth created in 2016, continued its annual counter demonstration against the far right ‘612’ march on 6 December 2023.  The march was created by Nazi organisation Nordic Resistance Movement and other Finnish far-right groups. In 2023 right-wing populists deserted the march, leaving it for fascists alone. For several hours, 1,500 counter-protestors occupied the square, delaying the march, and demoralising the fascists. In 2024, right-wing populist MP Teemu Keskisarja attended the march, however, despite the backing from parliament, fascist numbers were again decreasing. Also in 2024, the fascist ‘Blue-Black Movement’ party attempted to organise reading circles in public libraries, using a legal loophole designating libraries as free public spaces for any groups use. In Helsinki, reading circles were organised and the library administration was first adamant to permit the fascist gatherings. Due to loud anti-fascist protests inside the library, the library reconsidered the interpretation of law and the fascist gatherings were pushed out from public libraries nationwide. Additionally, in April, the ‘Hands Off!’ coalition organised the ‘Unruly Street Party’ where 400 people gathered and was continued with a squatting in a former manor house close to government officials’ residences. The house was evicted after 7 weeks; however, another former manor house was occupied further from the centre of the city, and remained occupied until December. Kaaoskartano (Chaos mansion), squatted 19 April 2024. Active demonstrations and protests against the right-wing government diminished through 2024.  The trade unions rounded up their direct-action campaign and the ‘Hands Off!’ coalition collapsed as Extinction rebellion moved forwards with a campaign to propose more ‘environmentally friendly’ cuts. The Left party won the EU parliament elections of June 2024, gaining 17% of the vote.  After this, most leftists seem to be happy to wait for the next parliamentary elections. In April 2025 anarchists resumed anti-government protests by forming a queue for bread to the prime minister’s residence in Helsinki. The protest failed to reach beyond the anarchist and radical left circles with around 300 demonstrators attending the event. Despite two years of efforts from anarchists and the radical left to form coalitions around common struggles, it is clear that different organisations and groups pursued their own agenda without attempting to unite on common struggles. Despite this, there are positives from the anarchist, anti-fascists coalitions, and wider anti-government protests of 2023-2024. Fascists were successfully marginalised and pushed out of public libraries, unions showed their strength and gained minor concessions, and Palestine solidarity showed endurance and provoked a government crisis. Yet, some big questions remain as the Finnish economy stagnates and the right-wing coalition remains in power. In 2024, the Finnish economy was the worst in Europe, and currently the unemployment rate of 9.9% is behind only Spain. How can growing number of unemployed people be organised? How can anarchists intervene in trade union struggles when they are hostile to outside intervention? How to united anti-racist and social struggles, and stop the fragmentation of struggles? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This article has been adapted from a lecture given at anarchist days, Dresden, 21st September 2024. It has been updated with recent developments. The lecture is available on YouTube and Spotify. The post Finland: Struggles against the right-wing government appeared first on Freedom News.

DURING A SUMMER BREAK IN THE SOUTH, FREEDOM GRABBED THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTERVIEW THE ANARCHIST COLLECTIVE ROUVIKONAS IN ATHENS ~ Blade Runner ~ The collective has built a reputation for direct actions that range from occupying ministries to smashing up the offices of debt collectors. Formed in 2014, in the wake of Greece’s anti-austerity struggles, they describe their work as bridging the gap between anarchists and the wider social base. In conversation, their style is as direct as their actions. On the collective’s beginnings: “Rouvikonas was founded in 2014. At that time, Greece had gone through social and political turmoil. Following the death of the young anarchist Alexis Grigoropoulos, an insurrection broke out in 2008 and a whole generation was radicalised. Then from 2010 to 2014, a big part of the social base took to the streets to fight against austerity measures, but the movement died out and the unrest was channelled back into parliamentary politics and the State. “The comrades who founded Rouvikonas thought that anarchists had lost a great and rare revolutionary opportunity in those years. They were not able to offer a credible alternative to the State for the people of the social base. So, they started reflecting on the mistakes and dead ends of the anarchist movement, and how to fix them. This is the context that triggered Rouvikonas’ creation: to bridge the gap that existed between anarchists and the social base.” On the use of social media: “Our political choice is to publicly claim responsibility for everything we do. Every action is followed by a statement with video and photo material, and a text explaining what we did and why. This serves several goals. By documenting our actions, we prevent the enemy from making false accusations. We can demonstrate exactly what we did, so it’s harder for a judge to condemn us on false charges. “At the same time, video footage is a powerful tool of communication: people can see with their own eyes what we did, and it can be inspiring. We show our actions to break the state of fear in which the social base is kept by the State and its propaganda mechanisms. The aim is to break paralysis and apathy, and to encourage people to join the struggle.” Intervention in a department store following reports for poor working conditions On state repression: “Patterns of repression have changed over the years, depending on the government. … Now there’s an open investigation trying to classify us as a criminal organisation, using changes in the penal code. This is serious — penalties are harsher, and it’s harder to avoid prison by paying fines. But we continue to fight.” “What really scares them is that we keep bringing in new people. In their own investigation they admit this: every time they identify members after an action, they see faces they didn’t know before. People without history in other groups or demonstrations, of all ages, genders, lifestyles. Not the usual suspects. Ordinary people who had never been political, joining Rouvikonas and taking action.” On firefighting and disaster relief: “Following decades of state cuts to the fire department, every year vast regions of Greece are destroyed by fires. People watch their houses burn, firefighters do what they can but with limited resources they cannot do much. When they protest, they get beaten by riot police. This is why three years ago we created a Volunteer Firefighters Sector for forest firefighting. “We now have three vehicles and a well-trained crew of volunteers. All summer they patrol the countryside and intervene when wildfires break out. In the last two years they saved people, houses, and wild animals. The logic is that of self-organisation: not to depend on the State, but to count on our own forces. As we say in Greece, ‘only the people can save the people’.” Rouvikonas’ firefighting volunteers in action On Antifascism: “Golden Dawn was defeated. It was defeated in the streets first, and then declared a criminal organisation and outlawed. By then it had already become useless to the ruling class. Militant antifascism is essential, but is not the whole story. There will always be small fascist groups, and you keep them in check in the streets. “But the real question is: how do we prevent them from gaining ground among the social base? The reason they gained influence was the political void we created. If you’re absent from social and political struggles, people turn elsewhere. If you don’t represent a credible alternative to parties and the State, people look elsewhere for solutions. We must be on the front line of the social and class war every day. To the degree we succeed, people will turn to us and ignore them.” Palestine solidarity walk in Athens’ touristic centre On Palestine solidarity: “Greece is a partner in genocide with Israel. The Greek bourgeoisie has historic and existential ties with the Israeli ruling class. Here we have companies collaborating with the Israeli military, and Israeli investors buying property and hotels. As long as such targets exist, there will be ways to hit the Zionist state and its genocidal policies.” The full interview will be featured in the next issue of Freedom anarchist journal The post Interview with Rouvikonas appeared first on Freedom News.

HOW WESTERN LEFTISTS AND ANARCHISTS FOUND ‘CONVENIENT’ VOICES FROM EASTERN EUROPE ~ Nikita Ivansky ~ Debates on anti-militarism continue to shake the anarchist movement in the western part of the world. Often in these debates we can see some organisations from Ukraine or Russia show support for the ‘no war but class war’ position. Three and a half years since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the anarchist movement is extremely divided. Previous strategies of ‘listening to local voices’ have mostly failed for those who were not interested in the first place. With more scandals certain to come in the future, it’s important to understand how we came to this point. More than 10 years ago, Russia annexed Crimea and occupied part of eastern Ukraine. Even then, the Kremlin cited various reasons for the occupation depending on the political views of its target audience. For the leftist/anti-fascist movement, Russian propagandists prepared a narrative that a fascist regime in Kyiv had seized power illegally. The 2014 invasion was presented as an anti-fascist action. Most anarchists and anti-fascists in the region had developed immunity to such lies over many years of propaganda. But for some Western anti-fascists and leftists, the presence of fascist flags during the Maidan protests was so shocking that they believed the story of a far-right coup without further facts.  Many anarchists in Ukraine at the time believed that to fight the Russian Empire, it was enough familiarise oneself with the situation in order to understand what was occurring in the country, and to provide facts what was happening. In Belarus, we had a similar idea of how to work with comrades in the West in the fight against Russian propaganda. This was: the truth speaks for itself, and those who insist on Putin’s position are just people who, for some reason, have not been reached by the facts. But, even then, we encountered people who knew better about what was happening in your own house. I still remember how, at one presentation, an anti-authoritarian activist from Ukraine talked about Maidan and the situation after the protests, and a German expert responded by talking about how Kyiv was simply occupied by fascists. Attempts to prove him wrong were useless in that moment. Russian propaganda had already done its job. Back then, sitting at a presentation about Ukraine, it didn’t even occur to me that we were incredibly naive in our belief in critical thinking within the anarchist and leftist milieu… After the full-scale invasion, I was one of those who insisted on the need to hear the voices of anarchists from Ukraine in order to understand the war and what we could do in this situation, depending on our capabilities. In my mind, such calls turned into the formation of permanent contacts between Western groups and activists from Ukraine/Belarus/Russia. And for a while, that’s what happened as people became interested, researched, and listened. But it didn’t last long. Soon after, self-proclaimed fighters with militarism within the anarchist movement appeared on the horizon. For them, the messages of Ukrainian and Russian anarchists were unacceptable. Instead of organising in solidarity, some Western leftists and anarchists decided to look for groups within Belarus/Ukraine/Russia that would fully correspond to their dogmatic perspectives on the war and the role of Western countries in it. In Russia, such allies were found relatively quickly. For anti-militarists, the Russian organisation KRAS-MAT’s positions was easily integrated into the Western mothballed analysis of wars. They turned the Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine into a clash between the ruling elites of both countries. Texts calling on Ukrainian society to lay down their arms and start fighting their own government began to spread across various anarchist and left-wing websites. The leftists and anarchists were not particularly interested in the criticism of KRA-MAT by other groups within the affected regions. The ideological proximity of the Western left to KRAS-MAT was more important than any political problems with the syndicate of academics, which had long since ceased to try to participate in the workers’ movement in Russia. However, KRAS-MAT’s position was relatively weak even in the eyes of Western anarchists. After all, the organisation exists within the aggressor state, where resistance to the war is almost completely absent. In this situation, some left-wing pacifists and anti-militarists began to chaotically search for allies in Ukraine and Belarus who could confirm their political analysis of the region. In 2022-2023, some pacifists and anti-militarists found the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement (UPM). The UPM has never declared its commitment to any leftist views, and a mixture of right-wing and left-wing ideas can often be found on the organisation’s information platforms. Moreover, Western leftists were not particularly bothered by the fact that one of the leaders of the organisation is the pro-Russian blogger Ruslan Kotsaba who was was expelled from the organisation in 2023. Nine months later he became part of the right-wing pro-Russian organisation ‘Another Ukraine.’ During the same period, European anarchists and leftists also discovered Assembly, another Ukrainian organisation. However, it was not the leftists who flocked to Assembly, but rather the authors of Assembly who, with the help of automatic translations, broke into leftist platforms such as libcom, completely filling the information field about Ukraine. The collective’s texts, often written in a sensationalist style, fit well with the old political analyses of leftists and some anarchist organizations in the West. For most activists, Assembly can be understood from this excerpt, which begins the story of resistance to mobilisation in Ukraine: “Throughout the territory of the Gulag darkness in the middle of Europe, a people’s war against war is spreading. The heirs of the freedom-loving Zaporozhye Cossacks, Makhnovists, and rebels of Karmalyuk and Dovbush are responding with their own violence to the violence of the heirs of the NKVD, Gestapo, and Pinochet’s death squads. And we are only on the threshold of a full-scale round-up of conscripts, which is expected after July 16.” In essence, Assembly does not write anything special. Rather, it collects discontent within Ukrainian society such as: the fight against corruption, resistance to mobilisation, the lawlessness of local officials. All of which is written about by the Ukrainian media and in social networks. The lack of criticism of the Russian regime and their attempts to put Russia and Ukraine on an equal political footing show, at least, Assembly’s unwillingness to understand the Russian world. The relative popularity of Assembly in Western circles has only reinforced the dogmatism of the group, which is completely removed from any anarchist organisations in the region. The only exception being their active cooperation with the aforementioned KRAS-MAT. Activists from Ukraine and Belarus tried unsuccessfully to draw attention to the inadequacy of the Assembly. But, once again, they came up against an ideological wall. Assembly, like other organisations, proved to be much more convenient for Western anti-militarists than the objective truth, which requires much greater effort in constant research, discussions, and even trips to war-torn countries. The situation in Belarus was even more complicated for the Western left than with Ukraine. After the 2020 crackdown on dissent and protests, there were only a few anarchist organisations left in Belarus and the leftist movement was largely absent and uninteresting. Belarusian anarchist organisations immediately condemned the war and called for resistance to Russian aggression. There were no equivalents of the Assembly or KRAS-MAT in the country. However, somewhere in the vastness of the internet and NGO business, the German left dug up Olga Karach with her project ‘Our Home,’ which since 2022 has been trying to sell stories to the West about mass resistance to compulsory military service in Belarus. Belarusian youth do indeed resist militarism, but this did not begin in 2022. It has existed for many decades. Websites and forums with information on how to avoid military service appeared in the early 2000s. But for Western activists, Olga Karach’s story seemed very plausible. Yet, the ideology of ‘Our Home’ can be described as… money. The project has been around for a long time and, during its existence, has managed to secure sufficient funds from European and American foundations for the development of democracy and human rights. But Olga Karach’s problems began after 2020, when Svetlana Tikhanovskaya appeared on the scene and dozens of new liberal organizations emerged to compete with ‘Our Home’s projects. For some time, Karach tried to fight Tikhanovskaya for leadership of the opposition, but she had relatively little chance, given that everyone within the opposition knew who Karach was. In November 2022, Pramen published an article about Karach with information that Western pacifists had begun to raise money for her projects. I personally had to communicate with some German leftists on this matter, but information about “Our Home” was largely ignored. Over many years in the NGO environment, Olga has become very skilled at selling the right messages to different political groups and seems to have become a regular contributor to the German anarcho-pacifist newspaper Graswurzel Revolution (Grassroots Revolution). At the moment, I doubt that discussions or presentations can lead to a greater understanding of what is happening among the ‘skeptics’ of the struggle against the ‘Russian world’. Further, in many ways three years of discussions about the war in Ukraine have once again shown my own naivety and belief in anarchists. For example, somewhere in the past we lost track of the pro-Russian Stalinist organisation “Borotba” from Ukraine, which for many years reinforced myths about the Ukrainian fascist regime, and no amount of texts or public speeches could eradicate this myth. Borotba’s ties to the Kremlin went largely unnoticed by Western leftist structures, and the damage done by the organization to the anti-fascist movement in Ukraine and beyond remains significant. For me, the situation in the anarchist movement is very reminiscent of something that happened to me in Greece. During one of my trips around the country, I had the good fortune to find myself in the same car as some Greek anti-fascists. It was a long journey, and I fell asleep quite quickly. Half an hour later, I was awakened by Russian Nazi rap. When I asked the Greek anti-fascists where they got such music, they replied that it was a gift from their anti-fascist friends in Donbas. When I told them that it was Nazi rap, they simply dismissed my comment. Fortunately, the Greek anti-fascists did not insist that we continue listening to the music of their friends from Donbas. Examples from three countries with different political groups shows that the concept ‘needing to listen to voices from the region’ does not work in cases of ideological dogmatism. Western leftists and some anarchists are willing to work with openly fraudulent organisations, just to preserve old ideological principles. With this approach, and in an atmosphere of information warfare, it becomes relatively easy to find a person or a group who will repeat slogans that are convenient and completely ignore a significant part of the organised anarchist movement. The post The anti-militarism of fools appeared first on Freedom News.

THINGS COULD BE, SHOULD BE, AND MUST BE BETTER—BUT WHAT KIND OF POWER DO WE WANT? ~ Dave, member of Haringey Solidarity Group ~ Power over people, or empowered people everywhere controlling their own lives? Is the top-down way our society is currently organised and run the natural “way things are”, and the only way? Do we have to put up with a system based on money, profits and greed, and on hierarchies, politicians and power structures? No! Why should we accept what inevitably comes with such a society – institutional injustice, exploitation, unfairness and discrimination, not to mention poverty, wars and environmental destruction? Things could be, should be, and must be better than that. But in what way? And how do we get from here to there? Firstly, whilst those with wealth and power, such as transnational corporations and governments, are relentlessly and ruthlessly working hard to maintain their domination of our world for their own profits and power, billions of people are acting in a different way in our everyday lives. REAL NORMAL BEHAVIOUR Families share resources and encourage the real human values of cooperation: mutual aid and respect. In every workplace workers try to do the same. In every neighbourhood and community, there are countless examples of such daily common sense, communication and solidarity. This is, in fact, the real “natural way” things should be done and how our whole society should be run. On top of such daily sensible, human connections everywhere, people are continuously making collective efforts at the grassroots to organise themselves, to share and spread skills, to articulate their views, to promote their common interests, to defend their rights, and to challenge things that are wrong. ORGANISING OURSELVES This is done through a plethora of groups, initiatives, projects and associations of all kinds (it is estimated there are a million voluntary associations in the UK alone) – from bee-keeping societies, to robot-wars conventions, sports clubs to choirs, from childcare sharing arrangements to evening classes, and from park user groups and residents’ associations to trade union branches. Many of these are strengthened through their efforts to build supportive networks and federations. Many, possibly most, of these groups will employ democratic principles (for example everyone being equal), be based around volunteering and sharing, and encourage collective initiative. In my own area alone, Haringey in North London, there’s a network of more than 100 residents’ associations, a Friends of Parks Forum with 65 independent local groups, an organised network of 35 community-run community centres, a forum for all the allotment site committees, and a range of other self-organised, horizontal grassroots networks. What this proves beyond doubt is that “ordinary” people are in fact extraordinary, and we are very capable of organising and empowering ourselves. This human way of doing things could be a real alternative to capitalism and governments if people realised that politics is not about voting for politicians but about what we can do ourselves, for each other and the common good. It’s our world – let’s take it back! We need to up our game, organise ourselves and take action together to build community counter-power in every street and workplace. At the same time activists need to build strong local solidarity groups in every town across the UK and beyond, to support our communities, local campaigns, and to spread anti-authoritarian ideas. PEOPLE POWER There is an amazing history of grassroots people power movements, strike waves and social revolutions throughout the world which should inspire us. Such movements should not only be against what’s wrong but also be for what is right – where people aspire to seize control of their own lives, communities and workplaces and run them directly and collectively together for the benefit of all. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This article first appeared in the Summer 2025 issue of Freedom Journal The post Today’s seeds are tomorrow’s future appeared first on Freedom News.

THE CO-PRODUCER OF THE LANDMARK DOCUMENTARY FILM REFLECTS ON ITS LEGACY AMID TODAY’S CHALLENGES ~ Joel Sucher ~ Anarchism in America is the title of a documentary produced way back in 1980; a time when the world was a far different place and the embers of the older strains of the movement —communist, individualist and syndicalist —were still alight. I was one of the producers of that documentary and was lucky enough to rub elbows with a variety of anarchists —Italians, Jews, Spaniards, Russians among others —who shared a common vision of a better world. They dreamed of a universal terrain without the shackles of authoritarian structures, governments and their corporate lackeys; churches, with their superstitions, and armed police to enforce the dictates of oligarchs and authoritarians.  The documentary was financed, ironically, by a liberal institution —National Endowment for the Humanities —established by Lyndon Johnson in 1965 when the idea of intellectual stimulation was still part and parcel of a democratic sensibility. Flawed, I’d reckon, because it was an ideal steeped in the belief of US exceptionalism. Propping up this notion these days has plunged America further down the bowels of a new dark age, replete with heaping helpings of stupidity, racism, white supremacy, hyper masculinity and racism. It’s a time for idiots to open mouths before engaging brains.  The original documentary was strung together with a questionable premise drawn from a 1978 book written by David DeLeon, titled The American as Anarchist, Reflections on Indigenous Radicalism. It postulated that there are those who explicitly tag themselves anarchists (like yours truly) but there are plenty more whose thinking embodies anti-authoritarian ideas without applying specific labels. Extended by DeLeon’s implication, these folks have inherited an anti-authoritarian DNA that’s become entwined and defined in the American character.  The film-makers The script was written by an old pal and comrade, Paul Berman, and was so good that for a few years the NEH staff waved it around as an example of what they would fund; that is, until Ronald Reagan became president in 1981. In the backwash of the election —presaging what’s happening today —the NEH staff bristling from the change in political sensibilities sheepishly asked us to take their names off the credits (we didn’t).  Well, many decades on I’m gazing through the looking glass and see the American-as-anarchist in a different guise: that is as a MAGA supporter. For instance, we interviewed an independent truck driver —“Lil John” —standing by his big rig and railing on about how government dos and don’ts had cut into his livelihood. “We’re not really independent because you talk about independent truck drivers and then you get into the political bureaucracy that run the United States government … mainly the rules and regulations. I mean, I don’t think a man in Washington, DC can dictate to me how to operate this truck, financially”. Touching a key point, he concluded “Just because you get elected to an office or you become a politician… don’t necessarily make you the big brother that’s got to oversee everything that’s under your domain … the people out there feel that they got to be the big brother, that we’re not smart enough down here to do our own thing”. Perhaps another fly in the American as anarchist ointment is the idea, espoused in the documentary by the late working-class anarchist poet, Philip Levine, about how Americans are “smart enough” to hate rules and conformity especially in places that have a sense of orderliness in their culture. “One of the things that struck me most when I went to Europe and lived there for a couple of years, was how fucking law abiding the people were, and how I broke all the laws. And I think I didn’t break the laws so much because I was an anarchist, it was just because I was an American. I mean, if I came to a traffic light, nobody was there. I went through the goddamn thing. It was just an attitude, you know, what’s the point of staying here? … I found that my European neighbors went crazy. stay in line, you know, it was sort of the stay in line, be this way, queue up in England, you know. And I’d say, fuck you, you know, the first one to the bus gets on, you know…. We are a people who are very smart, you know, that we got a lot of street smarts…I mean, we know what the law is all about. We know who made it and how it gets enforced. I mean, I think if you stop the average American say, what’s the law all about? Did God make it? He’d say, bullshit. He didn’t have anything to do with it.  John D Rockefeller made it”.  Interviewing CNT comrades In retrospect, this “truth” has embedded itself in the viscera of MAGA as a justification for releasing all that pent-up rage against the edicts of what they call the Washington swamp. Unfortunately, their goal is to create a new swamp overseen by a charismatic leader who has sold them a bill of goods about how he’ll make their lives better.  Obviously, as events in America unfold with deliberate shock and awe, it’s clear the confusion provides cover for rolling out a “brave new fascist world”. The blueprints are already out there (see my Covert Action piece on Curtis Yarvin). Anyone with even the slightest left of centre perspective will find themselves on hit lists with ambiguous outcomes. Handwriting is on the proverbial wall and the 2023 Cop City protests outside of Atlanta, where one activist was killed, provides more than enough evidence to highlight that the State has placed a target on the backs of the anti-authoritarian movement.  Will anarchists be the next group —after immigrants and pro-Palestinians —to be carted off? A definite possibility. You don’t have to be Nostradamus to guess what may be coming next. So, what to be done?  Well, mutual aid; that foundational anarchist theory-into-practice concept remains as alive and relevant today as it did and has given us the incentive —the power —to act in concert with like-minded folk for the benefit of our local communities. No need to wrap A’s in circles around our foreheads. It’s a demonstration of what is innate in the human character: an empathy that transcends greed and cruelty and one that infuses anarchist thought. Interviewing Mollie Steimer in Cuernavaca, Mexico Encouraging self-management in the small and medium business realm maintains credibility even now when Wall Street and its predatory banking buddies seek to control everything and anything.  Back in the day many of us were infatuated by the anarchist hue and cry, “don’t vote, it only encourages them”.  Times have changed severely and I, for one, believe that voting, primarily in local elections, where a vote counts for something—is an imperative that should be heeded. The old New England “town hall” ideal which we discussed in the documentary —gathering local citizens to discuss political affairs —remains a crucial exercise of power.  As the resistance starts to take root anarchists need to heed the pitfalls and traps set up in this new world of surveillance and AI. Welcome to “predictive policing” where science fiction meets science fact and where algorithms drive lead-generated police investigations. No longer are police gumshoes hiding in hotel rooms listening to bugs they have planted via crappy, old vacuum tube transmitters. The modern detective is fixed to a computer screen watching algorithms make —in essence —criminal predictions. We have turned a page; one Philip K Dick wrote about in his dystopian 1956 novel, Minority Report (later a compelling film starring Tom Cruise). The incompetent fools currently playing with the levers of US power take China as an example of how you can control an unruly population. It’s a true 1984 world where surveillance is translated into social control where, literally, points are deducted if you’re late to pay a bill or jaywalk; yes, it is a scheme to turn the population into good, obedient boys and girls. An awareness that you’re being watched needs to be just that and something that shouldn’t damp down activism. Having been involved in producing films like the 1970 documentary, Red Squad, I’m cognisant about the dangers posed by the surveillance State but there are plenty of counter-measures. Keep your circle of friends small (“affinity groups”, we used to call them); use secure platforms like Signal for communications and don’t invite all those you think may want to be on the down-low. If that means tamping down social media posts proclaiming support for Palestine, well, for the time being that should be considered. The other side will be monitoring and the threat is real. Anything is possible. I was born in a Displaced Persons camp outside of Lubeck, Germany, after the War and came over to the States and naturalised as a citizen. Could I, theoretically, be denaturalised? Sure. Anarchism, like the proverbial Seventh Wave, seems to engulf successive generations of young people eager to act on anti-authoritarian impulses and that’s a good thing, in my estimation, so long as they understand it’s a long-term commitment. It’s all too easy for the young kid waving around a black flag with an A in a circle to succumb to the seductive temptations of materialism, power-mongering and fame-whoring. While I believe that Anarchism in America is a deeply flawed film, I’d maintain that there are lessons to be learned and that after the authoritarians and capitalists melt down —which I’m sure they will —then anarchists can get back to the task of proffering the vision of a better world. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was originally published in the Summer 2025 issue of Freedom anarchist journal The post Is there a future for Anarchism in America? appeared first on Freedom News.

WE DON’T HAVE LONG BEFORE OLD-FASHIONED AUTHORITARIAN STATE CENSORSHIP IS EMPLOYED TO STOP US TALKING ABOUT ONE OF THE MOST SHAMEFUL EPISODES IN RECENT LABOUR HISTORY. We react to the Labour Party’s decision to not just ban a non-violent campaign group, but also the voicing of any public support for them or their actions. We can only do so in the gap between the Commons vote earlier today, and its confirmation by the Lords tomorrow … The post Anarchist News Review: The proscribing of Palestine Action appeared first on Freedom News.

WE ROUND UP SOME OF THE TITLES TO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR, FROM RETROSPECTIVES ON PUNK SOCIAL CENTRES IN LONDON TO THE LIVES OF BRILLIANT ORGANISERS AND MUTUAL AID THAT THRIVES IN THE WAKE OF WILDFIRES. Born of Struggle, Living in Hope: The Anarcho-Punk Lives of the Centro Iberico by Nick Soulsby PM Press (Oct) 192 pages | £14.99 The Centiro Iberico in London Notting Hill was for many years at the heart of Spanish anarchism in exile. Lasting for 12 years, it became a legendary music venue and the base of operations for civil war veterans such as Miguel García García, benefitting from its links to political punk through to its loss to gentrification in the 1980s construction boom. Soulsby analyses the centre and its importance to solidarity groups in Britain and Spain. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Love and revolution: A Politics for the Deep Commons by Matt York Manchester University Press (Jun) 216 pages | £25 York brings classical and contemporary anarchist thought into a dialogue with a global cross-section of ecological, anti-capitalist, feminist and anti-racist activists – discussing real-life examples of the loving-caring relations that underpin many contemporary struggles. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Associational Anarchism: Towards a Left-Libertarian Conception of Freedom by Chris Wyatt Manchester University Press (3 Jun. 2025) 224 pages | £25 Wyatt’s theory of political economy aims to unite the public sphere of citizenship with the private sphere of production in a system of communal ownership, through a scheme of self-governing horizontal networks held together by libertarian politics. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another War is Possible: Militant Anarchist Experiences in the Antiglobalization Era by Tomas Rothaus & CrimethInc PM Press (Jun) 448 pages | £26.99 Rothaus, who was active and present for many of the major events of the anti-globalisation movement around the turn of the Millennium, follows him through his early days as a militant across three continents. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Red Flag Warning: Mutual Aid and Survival in California’s Fire Country Edited by Dani Burlison and Margaret Elysia Garcia AK Press 184 pages | £13 Named after the term for a high fire risk, Red Flag Warning explores fires in rural and urban Northern California. It examines relationships to place and community and the importance of mutual aid, organising, community care, land stewardship, and resilience. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Continuous Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Martin Sostre by Garrett Felber AK Press 424 pages | £27 Sostre (1923-2015), from East Harlem, was an anarchist and key figure in black radicalism in the latter half of the 20th century as a campaigner, jailhouse lawyer, bookseller and political thinker. A lifelong organiser against all forms of oppression, his decades of activism are recounted by Felber in what is the first biography to have been written about him. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Active Distribution meanwhile has the following due out over the summer: The Continuing Appeal of Nationalism, by Fredy Perlman Why Anarchists Abstain from Elections, by Tommy Lawson Against History Against Leviathan, by Freddy Perlman New Times, by Peter Kropotkin Society of the Spectacle and Comments, by Guy Debord Storming Heaven, by Roger Yates (Fiction) All Hands on Deck, by Jan Goodey The People’s War in Rojava (with new intro and update) Anarchist Techno Attacks, by Crimethinc Kropotkin Escapes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And Freedom Press has two books confirmed for this year: Housing: An Anarchist Approach by Colin Ward Continuing our series refreshing some of Ward’s key works. Ward produced some of the most influential anarchist writing to come out of Britain in the latter part of the 20th century, and housing was a specialist topic, taking in thoughts on squatting, tower life, self build and urban planning with a laser focus on the question of how we can, and should, be participants in the lifecycles of our own homes. Everything Continues: Anarchism and the Greek Financial Crisis by Neil Middleton Turmoil in Greece following the 2008 financial crisis was of a different order to that of anywhere else in Europe, lasting throughout the 2010s and destroying much of its economy. At the heart of popular revolt against the catastrophe was Europe’s most militant anarchist milieu, a force potent enough to control parts of Athens and overwhelm police lines, an embedded reality in the life of the nation. Neil Middleton examines the circumstances that led to this riotous assembly and how the anarchists’ story played out over a decade of tumult. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This article first appeared in the Summer 2025 issue of Freedom Journal The post Upcoming Anarchist Books for 2025 appeared first on Freedom News.

ON THURSDAY THE STREETS BORE WITNESS TO DEMONSTRATIONS RANGING FROM MASS MOBILISATIONS TO LOCAL ACTS OF DEFIANCE TO MARK INTERNATIONAL WORKERS’ DAY ~ Alisa-Ece Tohumcu, Rob Latchford ~ From Paris to Athens, demands were raised against state violence, exploitation, and capitalist crisis. NANTES Photo: Oli Mouazan, CA Around 10,00 marched for the day and were met with swift and heavy police repression. Riot units charged the crowd early, using water cannons and chemical agents in what was a coordinated effort to break up the demonstrations. Protestors are said to have held firm, with strong union solidarity allowing the march to regroup despite intense pressure. BRUSSELS Photo: @1maireveolutionnaire Over 4,500 people joined the march, marking a record turnout for the third consecutive year. The demonstration brought together internationalist, anti-capitalist, and feminist blocs in a show of unity against militarism, facsism, and bourgeois power. Organisers emphasised the need to build revolutionary alternatives through collective struggle. THESSALONIKI Photo: @laf_portal Individuals marched behind banners from the Anarchist Political Organisation and grassroots labour unions. Chants denounced wage slavery, the state, and more; calling for organisation and struggle toward global social revolution. The demonstration moved through the city centre in a unified bloc. PARIS Police repression was swift and heavy-handed, with journalists among those struck with batons. Numerous banners were seized ahead of the march, and reports claim that multiple individuals were detained for carrying a Palestinian flag. After months of relative quiet following Macron’s autumn crackdown, authorities appeared eager to reassert control through brute force. PRAGUE Around 300 people joined the march in the Czech capital, bringing flags, banners, and more to the streets. The demonstration was followed by a concert and a focus on building new connections. Organised described the event as both emotional and energising, reaffirming the movement’s readiness to face the struggles of the present as well as the future. Wrocław, Poland ISTANBUL 50,000 police were deployed as the authorities cracked down and arrested hundreds of demonstrators. Taksim Square was under lockdown, with police and metal barriers along all roads leading to the area. Authorities were determined there were no major protests on the square, and they had enough riot police to ensure that. TURIN Anti-militarist and anarchist bloc marched in the demonstration under the banner “Peace among the oppressed, war on the oppressors,” organised by the Antimilitarist Assembly and the Turin Anarchist Federation. Over a hundred participants joined the contingent, which condemned the complicity of mainstream anti-war rhetoric with imperialist agendas, as well as the rise in workplace deaths, evictions, and precarious labour. Pushing forward the legacy of workers’ struggles and the need for renewed social emancipation. SAO PAOLO Demonstrators began at the citizenship station and ended at the Square of the Flags. Political groups, social movements, and militants from the OSL (Libertarian Socialist Organisation) joined the march, engaging with the workers alongside the route. ATHENS Several workers’ unions and trade unions staged a rally outside the parliament building, waving flags and chanting anti-government slogans. Student Foteini Douli said it was important to reflect and remember. “Of course we are here to honour Labor Day, which after many struggles and with great effort we, workers managed to achieve the eight-hour day, the working conditions and the rest,” she said. Mural in Novosibirsk LONDON Several thousands marched from Clerkenwell Green on May Day for the International Workers Day March to Trafalgar Square. Those taking part included many from London’s various ethnic communities—Turkish, Kurdish, Latin American, West Indian, Indian, Sri Lankan, Tamil, Iraqi, Iranian and more as well as many from UK trade unions, communist and anarchist groups. Many showed their support for Palestine and other international issues. Photo: Peter Marshall MADRID Nearly 70 people participated in the demonstration organised by the National Confederation of Labour (CNT) in the Spanish capital to commemorate International Workers’ Day. Through the reading of a manifesto in Plaza de las Terreras and a subsequent demonstration through several streets of the capital, reaching Plaza del Pilar, they denounced, among other things, that the world “continues to be governed by oligarchs, businessmen, and politicians who divide up our lives as if they were spoils”. Marseille, France The post In Pictures: May 1st Worldwide appeared first on Freedom News.