A full revolution against capitalism in America is a risky move. Considering that revolutions are bigger and more complicated then pop culture portrays them as. And France and Russia learned that the hard way when they just replaced one tyranny with another. So, if a full revolution becomes necessary, what do you think are the big mistakes France and Russia made in their revolutions that America should avoid? Here are three I have right now.

1. Reliance on strongmen. People like Robespierre, Stalin, all initiallt presented themselves as ideal for the revolution. But either revealed their true nature over time, or got greedy. We in America MUST watch out for potential strongmen within our own ranks. If any are found, they should either be removed, or monitored VERY closely.
2. Scapegoating. One of the saddest characters in the French Revolution, was Marie Antoinette. She was a favorite scapegoat in the French Revolution with propaganda portraying her as a thrifty spender and the infamous "Let them eat cake." fiasco. In truth, she had VERY little power within her own social group, her husband made most of the poor decisions, and she NEVER said "Let them eat cake." This is a reminder that even the rich have their hierarchies and those with little power among them. Plus, the French Revolution was rather infamous for misogyny. So we MUST NOT allow rich women to create misogyny. Perhaps some rehabilitation sessions could help?
3. Killing children. Everyone knows of the tragic deaths of the Romanov children. And rich children were also slaughtered without mercy in the French Revolution as well. Spoiled brats or not, children don't deserve death. Perhaps some special schools or education sessions to integrate them into a more egalitarian society could be of use? Adoption should also be on the shelf but only for very specific circumstances. Additionally, we should also note if any rich children are the victims of parental abuse.

Does anyone else know of any notable mistakes made all those centuries ago and ways to avoid them?

Hello,

Apologies if I have misread the rules and this post is inappropriate here (I couldn't find anything specifically against it).

The thought experiment is this: suspend all disbelief and imagine getting entirely rid of humans' capacity for physical violence. In an instant, every person becomes incapable of hitting, stabbing, shooting, forcefully grabbing, etc. Violence just becomes impossible for us, no loopholes. Can't harm people, can't harm other animals either (though they can still hurt us).

In such an improbable scenario, I believe humanity would "naturally" end up organising itself along anarchist principles. If no one can be forced, then how could it be otherwise? I'm extremely pessimistic about our species in the real world, but in this fictional one I can't see how authoritarians could possibly keep ruling the world. We'd have to peacefully cooperate and share resources equitably and all contribute as best we can. Is this naive or short-sighted?

Sure, at first the rich and most middle class would freak out about their stuff getting redistributed (I think the term they would use is "egregiously stolen by terrorists" or something like that), and could try to go on punitive expeditions, destroying houses and things, but that could only go on for so long, and they are so vastly outnumbered there could be effective community organising to peacefully prevent most mass destruction.

In such a world, stores get emptied out quickly... but unless you hide the stuff super well, anybody can take it, even if you try to hoard. Which eventually leads to people avoiding pointless effort and instead agreeing collectively to share what there is, and share in the burden of producing what is needed.

The current economic system should collapse quickly, because the 5% of the population already actively trying to disrupt capitalism despite the risk to their safety and freedom would become unstoppable. And they'd be joined by tons of cowards like me who are not doing anything now but would jump at the chance if it was consequence-free (no getting killed or maimed, no jail). You could sabotage every polluting company, block major roads, ports, airports, etc. nobody could stop you. So the demands of workers and ecologists would have to be met, one way or another.

On the other hand, what are fascists going to do? Try to steal my kids' favourite plush toy to hurt their feelings? I'll follow them home and do the same to their stuff haha. Am I lacking imagination here? What would the far right do in this event? What could do they do against us that wouldn't automatically be turned against them? I know they're nihilistic, but how long would they keep trying to burn the world down if their efforts were always crushed by a handful of dedicated activists? If all pipelines and oil rigs are destroyed (and I firmly believe they quickly would be), how can an oil company survive? Same for all other mass polluters and exploiters.

I've long been attempting to finish my novel that tells the story of the days, weeks, months after this event. I've got many drafts but I struggle to complete them, and it might be that I need a reality check on my basic assumptions. Or rather, simply new perspectives on how things might evolve in such a scenario. To be clear I'm not even really aiming for realism (I'm not smart/dedicated enough for that), it's more of a fun comedy with hopefully strong anarchist vibes, but still, the societal angle feels crucial to me. I just wish that part of my story was better, fuller.

Any thought you can spare would help, thanks!

Weekly open discussion thread

My brother has started to take an interest in reading, specifically self help books. I don't know much about them so I couldn't recommend any, and he recently told me that he had started a book called "The 48 Laws of Power" by Robert Greene. I might be wrong but reading about it online it seems like a type of grindset capitalist book, and he did express it kind of put him off how the dude was saying everyone is your enemy and so on.
I'm wondering if there are (potentially anarchist-adjacent?) "self-help" books that appeal to young men who might not want to read novels or "girly" books (he didn't express this but you get what i mean) and that can deliver healthier talking point than capitalist success, antagonism and domination,.. (again i haven't read the book and might be wrong about it) Thanks a lot

Not sure if a reddit post is the best avenue towards organizing, but I don’t have many connections yet

Weekly Discussion Thread for Black, Indigenous, People of Color

Radical bipoc can talk about whatever they want in here. Suggestions; chill & relax, radical people of color, Black/Indigenous/POC anarchism, news and current events, books, entertainment

Non BIPOC people are asked not to post in Radical BIPOC Thursday threads.

Hey All -

In the grand scheme, I'm trying to find the anarchist community in the greater Boston area (FL/TN transplant now living in Salem) for networking & activism. Any resources are greatly appreciated.

More specifically, I'm hoping there's a local occurrence of what Crimethinc's called "Festival of Resistance" on the weekend before Mango Moussilini is inaugurated.

If you don't want to post openly, DM for secure communication -- to be honest, I'm nervous as shit about posting this but I need to find my people....fast.

Cheers.

Rabbit

I saw an interview where Luigi Mangione's former roommate described him as a 'genuinely kind person'. Now, I know this might not even be the actual guy, but the statement immediately made me think of Aaron Bushnell, an actual anarchist who self-immolated in front of an Israel embassy. He was also described as a kind person by others.

I already have some ideas about this, and the reasons will already be obvious to a lot of us, but I wanted to get opinions from other people too; why are some people who take radical actions are described as kind, and more importantly are there any papers about this? I believe this is a phenomenon that needs to be studied in depth.

I've started reading into the history of Latin America more. Already, I have a pretty good grasp on the overall patterns of US/European interference in those countries, but I absolutely want to gain a better understanding on the nuances, cultures, and unique situations of each area. I do also understand every country in Latin America shares similar circumstances, but I want to understand them in such a way that I do not lump them together.

So, what I'm asking is; how do you study history in a way that is specific and free from imperialist propaganda? How do you find people to read/listen to? Any advice is good advice!!

I asked a question on a subreddit for the collecting of medals (mostly military awards) about anarchist medals. Anarchists were huge during the Russian civil war, and the Mexican revolution. The USSR backed leftist factions during the Spanish civil war, possibly including anarchist militias. What seems odd is that none of these militias ever produced, or where awarded, a single pin, let alone a medal. Supposedly Hungarian anarchists might have had a pin of two at some point, but I can find no evidence of this.

According to the Chronicling America project, the sole physical object representing American anarchists in the 1800s was the red flag. Spain's anarchist uniform seems to consist of just the red/black garrison cap, with variations in form and wear, and civilian clothing. I'm guessing the caps the flags were homemade?

Outside of printed materials (books, posters, pamphlets), that seems to be about it for all anarchist memorabilia until the 1970s with the punk rock movement, and even that stuff looks to be very DIY oriented as a rule.

Is anarchist merch really such a new phenomenon?

Weekly Discussion Thread for Radical Women

Radical women can talk about whatever they want in here. Suggestions; chill & relax, radical trans women, anarchafeminism, news and current events, books, entertainment

Men are asked not to post in Radical Women Wednesday threads.

Super random but I want to know. Let’s say there was never an atom bomb but just the threat of it going off. Was Gotham a good example of a libertarian socialist city? How much does it compare to the Paris Commune?

Hey comrade friends…me and my partner are in Las Vegas to celebrate our “finally free” honeymoon.

Does anyone know of any anarchist/leftist/radical type bookstores, shops, or comic book stores?

I like stopping in and supporting those places when I’m in a new area.

Much respect, hope everyone is having a good day.

Not sure if this entirely goes against no briganding rule but i dont think it does. Regardless if it does just let me know. I believe this is my first time posting here. I am copying and pasting a post from anarchy 101 Because another user recommended this subreddit for my question.

Any canadian artists here?

I sometimes come to this group for healthy discussion. I dont have access to really digitize anything. Nor do i have much money.

Im trying to organize a type of peaceful resistance within my area. Well country. Against Pierre Polliviere. I know many here are total abstentionists. Under most circumstances i am an abstentionist. However, this is the rare time i am no longer an abstentionist and i recognize the MAJOR threat conservative politicians have. Therefore i need to take direct action and help steer the ship another direction.

Its a long bit of explanation, i explained it in some comments and so i can copy and paste what i have left somewhere else.

But essentially our resistance needs propagandists. For digital posters. Thats way its easier to spread the word and can accumulate a mass of followers much faster into the resistance.

I personally came to call the resistance "crush Pierre". It is to wage counter propaganda campaign against them with intellectualism style propaganda that is to rhe betterment of the individuals well being and not an unjust authority figure. That is the intention. I firmly belive intellectualism is one of the biggest threats to fascists. They have tried to hard to protect their safe echochambers where moderates have remained brainwashed. No one is breaking the pattern.

One commenter going against them is like removing a single brick from their skyscraper (pierres x for example). They just come back and replace that brick right after. But if we get a bunch of concentrated counter propaganda on particular targets, its like us constantly removing bricks. Eventually that skyscraper is going to come collapsing down. And we can help shift the current global trend of democratic backslide.

They want us to think its futile i promise! But i personally believe this is one of their greatest weaknesses. Why else did Hitler destroy intellectualism? It was a threat to his power.

Brothers and sister its important. I want this movment to spread to different countries operating in cells against different particular politicians. Waging information war. It is peaceful, and contributes well to the cause of achieving equality.

So if anyone would like to help let me know. The posters dont have to be complicated. And we can get this ship moving in the right direction. If you want a link to the subreddit i made i can leave it in the comments. I might need mods if or when it reaches a bigger amount of people.

What you are reading, watching, or listening to? Or how far have you gotten in your chosen selection since last week?

I know that in General this sub maintains a strong anti-electoralism stance, and while I don't perfectly align with these beliefs I do agree on the issues with election culture and national races. Nonetheless I wanted to know your opinion and/or broader Anarchist theory on local electoralism more specifically. To clarify by local electoralism I mean either:

a. Local or regional direct initiatives such as ballot initiatives, town halls, etc

b. Local level elections for positions such as Town Council, School Board, etc

In general I tend to favor participation in these measures for the following reasons:

1. These measures tend to be more accountable to the general public and the popular will is more likely to be reflected in these elections and initiatives. In general local level elections tend to be far more accountable to democratic will than national ones.

2. Individual participation has a greater impact as these races may be decided by dozens or handfuls of votes.

3. These measures and elections tend to have more immediate impacts on communities and individuals especially pertaining to hot-button issues such as wages, abortion, or LGBTQ+ rights.

Obviously, however, I am not well acquainted with Anarchist theory and there may be certain arguments for or against that I am unaware of. Also as a disclaimer this is not an endorsement of any specific state office or political candidate just a broader theoretical question. Likewise my question is somewhat US centric however I am curious to hear about how these principles might be applied differently in other countries.

Have a mutual aid project you'd like to promote? In need of some aid yourself? Let us know.

^Please ^note ^that ^r/Anarchism ^moderators ^cannot ^individually ^verify ^or ^vet ^mutual ^aid ^requests