For our twenty first reading group we will be reading Social Anarchism and Organisation by the Anarchist Federation of Rio de Janeiro (FARJ). We also have some additional suggested short readings about Platformism and the arguments around it to go along with the booklet. As FARJ describes the booklet:
The first Congress of the FARJ was held with the principal objective of deepening our reflections on the question of organisation and formalising them into a programme. This debate has been happening within our organisation since 2003. We have produced theoretical materials, established our thinking, learned from the successes and mistakes of our political practice it was becoming increasingly necessary to further the debate and to formalise it, spreading this knowledge both internally and externally. The document “Social Anarchism and Organisation” formalises our positions after all these reflections. More than a purely theoretical document, it reflects the conclusions realised after five years of practical application of anarchism in the social struggles of our people. The document is divided into 16 parts. It has already been published in Portuguese in a book co-published between Faísca and the FARJ.
A free version of Social Anarchism and Organisation can be found at the Anarchist Library here. While this is the main reading, the following article/essay length pieces will also be helpful in understanding some of the historical arguments within the anarchist movement that are relevant to Social Anarchism and Organisation:
Organisational Platform of the Libertarian Communists – Reflections on what went wrong for anarchism in the Russian Revolution and how to prevent it from happening again, which would lead to platformist anarchism
A Reply to the Platform – A response to the above, which would lead to synthesist anarchism of the kind still championed by the French anarchist federation.
A Reply to Anarchism’s Confusionists – A plaftformist response to the synthesist critique.
About the Platform – An exchange between Makhno and Malatesta about the platform.
Our friends at Freedom Press here host the reading group for free, so please support them by using them for your supply of radical books and zines.
The reading group will be meeting on Tuesday the 26th of May, 19:00, at Freedom Bookshop, 84b Whitechapel High St, London E1 7QX. You are welcome to come and join in the discussion even if you have not finished the reading.