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thelemotta OP wrote

I came from a Platformist background (anarchoBolsheviks if you ask me), so this place seems great, full of diversity and new ideas!

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autonomous_hippopotamus wrote

yeah it's really diverse here

I have mixed feelings about Platformism (Warning: Rant)

I think many of their ideas are valuable. Strategically at least, if we are to build working class unions and anarchists are to participate in them. The documents by the FARJ are very interesting, as well as the other historical texts. ( This blog has some good resources for anyone interested https://anarchistplatform.wordpress.com/ )

But they speak and act as if they are the only true anarchists, and their goal is to be the general anarchists union, as in, the only anarchist organization, that includes all real anarchists, and this union must have unity of theory and practice ... this is counter to anarchism, that advocates many forms of organization, diversity of tactics, etc.

Also, It seems like the type of people attracted to Platformism are former marxists, or at least anarchists with an authoritarian streak. It's not necessarily entryism, but there is definitely some Leninist crossover in the tradition. ( in one document by the Brazillian especifistas , they state all members must adhere to "dialectical materialism" (!!!) ) They promote a class reductionist worldview, and completely oppose any kind of individualism. They also worship Murray Bookchin for some reason, even though he was against working class revolution. Like marxists they must have their great intellectuals.

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thelemotta OP wrote

Basically, you summarized my principal critique of Platformism and Especifism. I'm diving into all post-left, post-civ and decolonization readings to heal my mind (i have hopes for my recovery).

The debate around morals here really catch my eye, because those anarchists (Plat's and Especifistas) actually believes in an universal proletariat moral.. And this just sounds not right.

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autonomous_hippopotamus wrote

Yeah, that frustrates me too. The plats ignore all the philosophical questions that individualists and egoists talk about, and then just declare that individualists/egoists aren't anarchists at all and write them out of history.

It doesn't make much sense, since you can be a communist, and believe in working class organization, and also be an individualist with egoist ethics. Platformists and Syndicalists are basically "workerists" they think the working class is a great trancedant class with a "historic mission" that working class culture is inherently progressive, democratic, etc. It is just lazy thinking.

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thelemotta OP wrote

Some of them just do not elaborate on the consequences of the limited platformism theory, but the fearsome majority of them are trapped in the Ideology. In such a way that they think, like we talk, be the true repository of Anarchism, talking about much of discipline and unity of praxis (not a bad thing if u do not take yourself to serious).

What led me to think anarchist was precisely non-anarchist philosophers and writers, Thoreau, for instance. What I can not stand is the policing they do, for example in 2013 in a big rally some especifistas begun to command some 'hooligans' (students and anarchopunks) to stop randomizing targets and focusing on show the population the struggle and lalala. Afterwards some people begun to throw rocks in a bus full of passengers demanding people to get off the bus to burn it, then some especifistas showed up to educate the 'hooligan mass'.

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