ICONOCLAST MEDIA

South African writer and activist Michael Schmidt, co-author of “Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism” will be in several Ontario cities between March 15 and March 21 to promote and discuss this important new book on the global history of anarchist movements and ideas. The tour, organized by Common Cause with support from AK Press and several local sponsors, is scheduled to pass through London:
March 16 at 7pm in the Central Library’s Tonda Room at 251 Dundas St.

For more information contact commoncauselondon@gmail.com
and check www.linchpin.ca for updates.

About the book from AK Press:

“Black Flame (Counter-Power, Volume 1) is the first of a two-volume set examining the democratic class politics of the worldwide anarchist movement, its vision of a decentralized planned economy, and its impact on popular struggles on five continents over the course of the past 150 years. From anarchism’s first glimmers as a nineteenth-century ideology to today’s anticapitalist struggles, Black Flame traces anarchism’s lineage and contemporary relevance, outlining the movement’s insights into questions of race, gender, class, and imperialism. With Black Flame, Michael Schmidt and Lucien van der Walt, both writers and activists in South Africa, have begun what promises to be the definitive synthetic account of the international anarchist tradition. Nearly exhaustive in scope, and rigorous in its scholarly detail, this first volume significantly reframes the work of previous historians and, especially, examines coherent alternatives to Marxist and nationalist approaches to revolutionary theory and practice. An indispensable conceptual roadmap to the history and continuing relevance of anarchist praxis”

Reviews:

“In recent years, there has been an upsurge in class struggle anarchism or social anarchism. In these circumstances, there is a need for a clear and more forceful theoretical statement of principles, and Black Flame serves as an excellent opening statement of the relevance of class struggles anarchism in a twenty-first century context…this book is an impressive introduction to the history of anarchist theory and anarchist movements.” Sean Benjamin, Upping the Anti no. 9, November 2009.

“This highly worthwhile book represents the fruit of considerable scholarship and deep reflection. The authors have done a remarkable job in drawing together a vast international body of literature. They show convincingly that anarchism and syndicalism were far more significant political forces in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century world than historians have generally given them credit for. They provide excellent accounts of the movement’s global political reach, supported by an impressive knowledge of disparate literatures. Schmidt and van der Walt also make a powerful and lucidly written case for anarchism as a serious and coherent political philosophy.” —Jonathan Hyslop, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

“This book fulfills a daunting task. Covering anarchism in all parts of the world and emphatically tying it to class struggle, the authors present a highly original and challenging account of the movement, its actions and ideas. This work is a must for everybody interested in non-authoritarian social movements.” —Bert Altena, Rotterdam University

“A well-thought out and nuanced study of the intellectual, political, and social history of anarchism.” —Steven Hirsch, University of Pittsburgh

About the authors:

Michael Schmidt is a Johannesburg-based investigative journalist and journalism trainer, with more than twenty years experience in the field as a reporter for South Africa’s leading newspapers including the Sunday Times and ThisDay, and as a co-editor of the anarchist news and analysis website anarkismo.net. A seasoned activist, his work has taken him to Chiapas, to Guatemala during the civil war, to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Rwanda, Darfur, Lebanon, and beyond.

Lucien van der Walt is based at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, where he teaches in development, economic sociology, and labor studies. His recently completed PhD on the history of anarchism and syndicalism in early twentieth-century South Africa was awarded the prestigious Labor History international prize for the best doctoral thesis of 2007. He has written and lectured widely on contemporary working-class struggles and the relationship between race and class, and, together with Steven Hirsch, he is the editor of the forthcoming volume, Anarchism in the Colonial and Postcolonial World, 1880-1940 (Brill 2009).

Could a new society be set up after capitalism, one which relies neither on the market nor on the state–a society based on directly democratic workplace and community councils? One such program has been called Parecon (from Participatory Economics), as developed by Michael Albert, Robin Hahnel, and others. These ideas have been critiqued by concepts from the tradition of revolutionary anarchist-communism. A dialogue will be held by representatives of each point of view, with discussion with attendees. Speakers: Wayne Price is a long time militant in labor, human rights, and antiwar struggles. A member of NEFAC (Northeastern Federation of Anarchist Communists), he writes regularly for www.Anarkismo.net and has a book, The Abolition of the State; Anarchist & Marxist Perspectives (www.authorhouse.com). Chris Spannos, one of the staff and editors at Znet, has edited a book, Real Utopia: Participatory Society for the 21st Century–which is being published by AK Press. Filmed at the New York City Bookfair May 2008 by David Buccola

A related debate: http://libcom.org/library/participatory-society-or-libertarian-communism

Tens of thousands of Greek workers have taken to the streets to protest the first of a series of budget cuts. The cuts come as the European Union pressures the Greek government to slash its massive budget deficit, or face potential bankruptcy. We spoke to Nikos Nikiasis of the Greek Social Forum, who put forward another option for raising the needed funds, while questioning the importance of being part of the European Union.

Hundreds of anarchists block the Olympic torch route and forced torch bearer Carrie Serwetnyk out of Commercial Drive.

What happens when the political becomes personal? Then who has the power?

Does Stephen Harper because he’s our prime minister? For sure. Does Oprah Winfrey because she’s a multi-million media celebrity who likes to share her political views and ideas? Yep, she’s got some sway. How about ordinary citizens who come together to champion certain causes, or try to tackle certain socio-economic problems? Do they have any political power? Darn right they do. And they’re what MakerCulture politics is all about. People, united in cause, working together to spread a message and set changes in action.

Whether at the local, provincial, national or global level, examples of MakerCulture politics are everywhere. And in this episode we’ll open your eyes to just some of these movements. We’ll show you that political power is not limited to a select few with high profile positions. Rather, it’s everywhere there’s people coming together to make change happen.

London activism: Empowerment Infoshop

There’s an American and Canadian flag that says “United We Fall” right above the dining room table, and a Barack Obama poster above the door with the words “You won’t make change” scratched across it.

This is the headquarters of Empowerment Infoshop, a radical information centre in London, Ontario. And those are just two signs among many that show the political views of the shop.

It’s not that the members dislike Americans, but they are frustrated with capitalist systems and mainstream governments. According to Anthony Verberckmoes, the facilitator of Empowerment Infoshop, he and his activist friends aren’t the only ones unhappy with the current government.

“There was just a poll that came out… and 20-something per cent of the Canadians in this poll were against the capitalist system,” said Verberckmoes. “I mean, that’s a fifth of the Canadian population. That’s an enormous number.” In London, Ontario there is a growing number of activists who are taking action to make political change.

Verberckmoes is one of those activists. Common Cause is an Ontario-wide federated anarchist organization that recently added a London chapter. Verberckmoes is a member of the group as well as Alex Balch, a Fanshawe College student.

Balch says Common Cause members are putting their political plans into action. “We’re trying to get a free school organized now,” said Balch. “Also a lot of members are active within unions and trying to push for anarchist organizing methods and we have workshops and educational and stuff like that for the public.”

Another up-and-coming organization in town is the London Activist Assembly which was created in September by a group of the University of Western Ontario Students. Heather Graham, a founding member, says the assembly, is also against capitalism and large corporations.

“The fact that everything is being turned into a business and it’s very hard for individuals to promote their own skills, their own services and their own needs, separated from the consumer culture that we live in — that’s been a very big issue of ours,” said Graham.

She says the assembly is largely into guerrilla campaigning which involves things like posting stickers around the city to promote their political views. Both Common Cause and the London Activist Assembly agree that with the growing number of Canadians getting frustrated with government bodies, Canadian activism is sure to increase in the coming years.

from ‘How MakerCulture Is Reinventing Politics’ -thetyee.ca

Perfect for anti-prorogation rallies, this flier asks some probing questions about the nature of our so-called “democracy.” Click on image to download printable PDF. Feel free to print and distribute widely.

Click on image to view online PDF.

For printer-friendly PDF, please click here. Feel free to print and distribute to your heart’s content.

Nationalism involves the identification of an ethnic identity with a state. When nationalism is pushed to an extreme, it not only justifies wars against other nations, but it is also used to justify attacks against ones fellow citizens. National flags, national anthems, and other symbols of national identity are often considered sacred, as if they were religious rather than political symbols. Deep emotions are aroused. Fascism is a form of authoritarian ultra-nationalism.

“Nationalism is an infantile disease… It is the measles of mankind.” -Albert Einstein

Anarchism has developed a critique of nationalism that focuses on its role in justifying and consolidating state power and domination. Through its unifying goal it strives for centralization both in specific territories and in a ruling elite of individuals while it prepares a population for capitalist exploitation.

Colonialism is the building and maintaining of the colonies in one territory by people from another territory. Anarchists see colonialism as a form of capitalism, enforcing exploitation and social change. Working within the global capitalist system, colonialism is closely associated with uneven development.

Corporatization refers to the transformation of state assets or agencies into state owned corporations in order to introduce corporate management techniques to their administration. Also refers to non-corporate entities like universities or hospitals becoming corporations, or taking up management structures or other features and behaviors employed by corporations.

Jingoism is defined as “extreme patriotism in the form of aggressive foreign policy.” In practice, it refers to advocating of the use of threats or actual force against other countries in order to safeguard what somone perceives as their country’s national interests, and colloquially to excessive bias in judging one’s own country as superior to others – an extreme type of nationalism.

Editor’s Note:

The following is a copy of a communique released by the Olympic Resistance Network (ORN) prior to the start of the RBC and Coca-Cola sponsored Olympic Torch Relay, which called on activists across Canada to mobilize and organize protests as the torch passed through their towns, cities and communities. As the following pages will show, the call was answered by people all across this country - with many of the grievances outlined in this document echoed in cities from Victoria to Montreal. Iconoclast congratulates all those who took the time to organize and participate in these protests, which were often maligned or ignored by the country’s corporate media outlets, led by CTVglobemedia (owners of the Globe and Mail and a large number of Canadian television stations) - themselves an important Olympic sponsor.

CALL FOR CROSS-CANADA MOBILIZING:

EXTINGUISH THE OLYMPIC TORCH!

From October 31 2009 - February 12 2010, the Olympic Torch Relay “A Path of Northern Lights” will be traveling across Canada. The Olympic Resistance Network, based in Vancouver, Unceded Coast Salish Territories, is calling on and encouraging our allies to coordinate efforts in over 2000 communities to oppose and resist the Torch Relay.

The origins of the Torch Relay lie in the dark history of the 1936 Games in Berlin, where it was devised as a means to spread Nazi fascism and to promote the Third Reich. The Royal Bank of Canada and Coca Cola are the main sponsors of the 2010 Torch relay. RBC is the top financier of the environmentally devastating Alberta Tar Sands, while Coca Cola has been responsible for health degradation as part of the junk food industry, massive depletion of groundwater and toxic waste pollution in India, and involved in hiring paramilitary groups to violently repress union organizers in Colombia.

It is becoming increasingly evident that far from being simply about sport, the 2010 Olympics is rooted in displacement, corporate greed, militarization, and repression. While Olympic corporate sponsors are getting bailed out, Indigenous lands are being stolen, more people are becoming homeless, thousands are losing their jobs and access to public services, the environment is being destroyed, and civil liberties are being eroded as over a billion dollars are being sunk into security and surveillance measures.

This Torch Relay will be the longest in-country relay in Olympic history, giving us the chance to make some anti-Olympic history! No Olympics on Stolen Native Land!