As quoted from the text:

“The aim of this chapter is twofold: to develop an understanding of the doctrine of anarchism and its origins; and to outline the core features of anarchist doctrine.”

Hope to see you there!

Chapter II

Chapter 1 available as a Pdf for easy online viewing here

Or as a printable-as-zine Pdf here

At the first Fantin Reading Group session we ran back in 2009, we started with the first chapter of Michael Schmidt & Lucien van der Walt’s Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism.

This is a great book that was published in 2008 and which covers most if not all of the issues in establishing the core ideas of anarchism, accompanied by a huge amount of historical research. More info on the book can be found at black-flame-anarchism.blogspot.com. The South African organisation Zabalaza, to which the authors belong, is also a good resource for solid anarchist critiques on a broad range of topics.

On Sunday 15 January we will be repeating the first chapter, which sets out the “broad anarchist tradition” in general terms and outlines the rest of the book. We will then embark upon reading the whole book at the following fortnightly meetings.

You can purchase copies of Black Flame through Anarres Books at MAC or at anarresbooks.wordpress.com.

All welcome to attend Fantin Reading Group.

2pm, Sunday 20/11 @ Melbourne Anarchist Club, 62 St Georges Rd, Northcote.

Due to the busy schedule this week (28/10), we have decided to move our reading group session on Anarchist Economics to Sunday 20/11.

We have one reading ready so far, Proudhon, Marx and Anarchist Social Analsysis by Michael Schmidt and Lucien van der Walt, which is chapter 3 of their book Black Flame.

More readings will be added in the coming weeks, or if you have any suggestions email melbourneanarchistclub@gmail.com.

See you then companer@s.

• Kolya Abramsky, ‘Energy, crisis and world-wide production relations’, Critical Currents (Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation), No.6, October 2009 [PDF]:

‘Some kind of transition to post-petrol energy sources is virtually inevitable. However, the outcome is not a technical given. It is no longer a question of whether a transition to a new energy system will occur, but rather what form it will take. Will it involve a dramatic and rapid collapse, or will it be a smoother and more gradual process? Which technologies will a transition include, and on whose terms and priorities?’

• DB, ‘END: CIV—Against Jensen and for a Real Ecological and Working Class Revolution’, First of May Anarchist Alliance (M1), September 2011:

Collapse does not equal revolution

‘…even if the perfect storm of capitalist transition, peak oil, and climate change comes about, the resulting devastation will not eliminate either capitalism or the state.’ [For an alternate view see the video END:CIV posted on this site.]

• ‘Direct Action on Climate Change’, forthcoming article in Death of a Scenester:

‘The irony of the adoption by Abbott of the language of direct action for state-led in-action cannot be overstated. Most obviously, his attempt to implement the policy through wining government (after which democracy will end and we will all have to live with whatever next pops into Tony Abbotts head) is the very definition of political, or parliamentary action. Secondly there is the content of the policy itself, which is to use state money to subsidise some of the wealthiest elites in the nation, in order to ensure that they maintain their monopoly of wealth as the economy makes some minor alternations to its technological base. That is, state-political action to ensure the continuance of capitalism, rather than anti-state, direct action in order to overthrow it. The combination leads to the Orwellian statement: “To facilitate direct action, a Coalition Government will establish an Emissions Reduction Fund to support CO2 emissions reduction activity by business and industry”.’

Our next discussion night will look at this text by Kropotkin. Some have seen his discussion of collectivist or communist impulses in history as a blueprint for the future of socialism. Others say the analysis is ahistorical and idealistic. Discuss! The readings will be available on the blog closer to the date.

Interested? Drop us an email: melbourneanarchistclub@gmail.com.

The reading (finally)!

Sorry for the delay.

From the Medieval Commune (PDF).

Makhno and the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine spent the better part of three years, following  the Russian Revolution of 1917, fighting on two fronts. Defending the Free Territory, a territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by free soviets and Libertarian communes, from the counter-revolutionary White Army as well as the Bolshevik Red Army. Whilst they were defeated in 1921, Makhno’s influence on anarchism worldwide is undeniable, if not controversial. In 1926, with comrades in the Dielo Truda group, Makhno drafted the Organizational Platform of the General Union of Anarchists – an outline for future anarchist organising, which is still the subject of intense debate today.

For those interested in taking part in the discussion, there are three short readings, including part of the Platform, which can be downloaded below in PDF format.

MAKHNO READINGS

The reading group will take place this coming Sunday March 13 – 3pm at the Melbourne Anarchist Club – 62 St Georges Rd, Northcote. All welcome.

Any questions? melbourneanarchistclub@gmail.com

3pm Sunday March 6th
The Melbourne Anarchist Club
62 St Georges Rd, Northcote

In July 1936 an attempted coup d’etat by nationalist military forces threw Spain into bitter civil war. In the midst of this civil war the most ambitious social experiment the world has ever seen took place. The Spanish revolution saw workers seize control of their lives under the red and black banner of liberty. Despite the liberatory nature of the revolution sexism was still rife within Spanish culture, even the most revolutionary sections of it. To counter this the Anarcha-Feminist group the Mujeres Libres (Free Women) was formed. This film, made in 1987, is a series of interviews with surviving members of the group. An important oral history of an inspiring group of anarchist women.

The film will be followed by a discussion on what lessons can be taken from the way Mujeres Libres organised and how it might be applicable today.

We’ve also got a short extract from Martha Ackelsberg’s Free Women of Spain that will help inform the discussion: Martha Ackelsberg’s Free Women of Spain extract.

The book is available from AK Press and there are also copies in Jura Books (Sydney) which you can order by mail.

The reading group has called another discussion night – 5pm Sunday 16th January. We’ll be discussing the issue of violence and the use of force in revolutionary struggle. In particular we’ll be looking at anarchist critiques of pacifism.

There are suggested readings to get the discussion going. They are available to download below in PDF format.

Download the PDF

If you need more info, such as where to meet etc, send us an email:

melbourneanarchistclub [at] gmail [dot] com

See you there!

Email from Adam Bandt, 1995, to a Marxist email list (Bandt is now a federal Greens MP).
Download the PDF

Extract from The Joy of Revolution by the American (pro-)Situationist Ken Knabb.
Download the PDF

‘Why We Boycott Elections’ by Polish anarchist group ZSP, in response to Noam Chomsky’s alleged support of the Polish Labour Party.
Download the PDF

If you need more info, such as where to meet etc, drop us an email: melbourneanarchistclub [at] gmail [dot] com