Concerning the Platform for an Organization of Anarchists: Response of Some Russian Anarchists (Sobol, Schwartz, Steimer, Voline, Lia, Roman, Ervantian, Fleshin)

Reasons for the Weakness of the Anarchist Movement

 We do not agree with the position of the Platform “that the most important reason for the weakness of the anarchist movement is the absence of organizational principles.”  We believe that this issue is very important because the Platform seeks to establish a centralized organization (a party) that would create “a political and tactical line for the anarchist movement.”  This overemphasizes the importance and role of organization.

We are not against an anarchist organization; we understand the harmful consequences of a lack of organization in the anarchist movement; we consider the creation of an anarchist organization to be one of our most urgent tasks…But we do not believe that organization, as such, can be a cure-all. Continue reading

Anarcholeninism? A Critical Look at the Platform

I have been an anarchist for over 25 years.  During this time I have encountered many other anarchists who have ideas about the world and anarchy that are quite different from mine.  This variety of opinions and preferences has always been one of the appeals of the libertarian movement for me.  I enjoy the discussion and debate such differences encourage and produce.  If we all agreed with each other, life, especially life in oppositional movements, would be incredibly dull. Continue reading