Avalanche - The Anarchist correspondence zine Avalanche - The Anarchist correspondence zine 5 | Page 3
Editorial
The base of the revolt against everyday misery is
a critique of society. Because to not longer submit
oneself to the powers that control, is to no longer
believe (temporarily or partially) in the ideological foundation of these powers. For anarchists this
critique is a radical one, because it is not limited
to one specific form of power but it aims at authority in all of its manifestations in the present, past
and future. The anarchist critique agitates and provokes because it demystifies the moral foundations
of society. Potentially it can dislocate the social,
economical and political structures of power. It can
open a path to the subversion of society.
Of course this critique can not only be developed
on the level of theory. To not engage in a direct
conflict with this society, is to deprive oneself of
the necessary experiences to understand the dynamics of recuperation and repression. So it will
be a critique that stagnates and to hide this fact,
it will be enveloped in an incomprehensible language. It might even become a tool in the hands of
the powers to play their game of recuperation and
repression. The dynamic between critical action
and analysis is a vital one to not while demystifying present structures of power, at the same time
mystifying other forms of authority and preparing
the grounds for reformism or a new cycle of oppression and exploitation.
The repression of anarchists has never waited for
there to be an anarchist movement big enough to
create an army or even guerrilla capable of crush-
ing power with violence. Precisely because the
strength of anarchy is not in how many soldiers
or resources it can mobilize, but in the subversive
ideas and deeds it can inspire. To assign every moment of repression to the recognition of repressive
forces of the potential threat anarchists pose, would
be too hasty and sometimes a bad estimation of the
capabilities of anarchists and/or the police. Other
motives might be relevant; to show the productivity
of police forces (and the legitimation of their existence or expansion), to create a spectacle of crisis
(to promote a political decision as inevitable), to
set an example (to discourage anyone to rebel)...
But power will never tolerate anarchist attacks on
the social relations that sustain it.
To be or not to be anarchist, has never been the
central question. Because a radical critique of authority can not be captured in an identity or an
adjective. It is a never ending dynamic of practice
and theory of critique aimed at the subversion of
society. Anarchists and anarchist struggles can not
subtract themselves from this critique. This publication was conceived as a tool for exactly this; a
space for thoughts about the ways to make the anarchist critique potentially subversive, to immerse
it into a dynamic of analysis and actions. The projects of struggle (or interventions of anarchists in
struggles) are the experiences we need to share,
to understand and to evaluate. The texts written on
these bases are the contributions we think necessary for a correspondence that reinforces an anarchist and radical critique of society.
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