Thread by @BlackSocialists

Anarchists (Libertarian Socialists) are perceived as a threat and attacked by all sides of the political spectrum (if you will) because what all other sides have in common (Left or Right) is an acceptance of top-down hierarchy and coercive authority (even if some try to hide it).

Anarchists understand Capitalism as not only a system of exploitation, but a system of domination as well, and they understand that domination (in some form or another) has essentially existed since human beings have been around (well before Capitalism even had a name).

Anarchists believe production must be controlled by the people themselves in service to the commons, just as most self-described Socialists/Communists do.

But they have never believed that production must first pass through the hands of some bureaucratic body for this to happen.

Pretty much all other major political tendencies (Left or Right) subscribe to paternalistic and hierarchical ideas around organizational structure or governance; they believe in “leaders,” “representatives,” “bosses,” or an “elite” of some sort, and for different purposes/causes.

Anarchists have historically called the bluffs of all claiming to lead or act “on behalf” of others, while simultaneously having to face the challenge of galvanizing people – conditioned under paternalism and hierarchies their whole lives – to lead themselves through cooperation.

At their worst, Anarchists neglect the struggle of organization, fall into forms of lifestylism, or leave themselves open/vulnerable to authoritarian appeals.

At their best, Anarchists take the concepts of “freedom” and “prefiguration” seriously, and to their fullest extents.

Freedom = “the equality of unequals” and maximization of individual liberty/autonomy under a system of governance directly and democratically determined by a collective.

Prefiguration = reflecting the values of the society you want to reach in the practice of trying to reach it.

Humans can no longer afford to give time, energy, and resources to people (and bodies of people) that don’t take the ultimate goal of freedom seriously, and/or whose means don’t reflect expressed ends in any meaningful way, shape, or form.

Everything is on the line…

Those who continue to delude themselves in their thirst for individual power and domination are laying the foundation for our collective demise (both their *and* our demise).

Only prefigurative, #DualPower efforts for freedom can afford us a chance.

Another relevant thread on Anarchists.

https://twitter.com/BlackSocialists/status/1374377284845543428?s=20