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GrimWillow wrote

Supposedly the one principle that unites anarchists is their opposition to government, but that statement tells us little about their actual views.

What? That wouldn't be the one principle...it would be one that disavows all vertical organizing as being oppressive, including oppressive social relations based on race or gender. Intersectional solidarity with struggles against oppression is probably the aspect that best defines the Anarchist, not just being anti-"government"...

Still, is it possible that self-identified anarchists from the past can tell us something about our politics in the present?

As much as I love that this highlights someone as amazing as Lucy Parsons, why would this author make it seem like the Anarchists of today aren't saying much? As if Anarchists only ever said anything relevant in the past. There are the Lucy Parsons of today writing books, shooting fascists, destroying capitalists, and standing their ground against various states. I have read sharp and relevant discourse from the pages of free zines handed out at Anarchist Bookfairs to the myriad of published material from Crimethinc or AK Press. This author missed an opportunity to tie the voices of today to Lucy Parson's struggle of yesterday.

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DissidentRage wrote (edited )

Those core principles aren't important to left-liberals. They want to take the most shallow, easy, accessible components to make capitalism into a softer, cuddlier tyranny without enacting a single meaningful change. Adventurous liberals might hear the names of people like Lucy Parsons then see articles like this, giving the appearance of depth and scratching their curious itch, without doing anything to make them question their liberal sensibilities to the point they go further left.

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