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. [email protected] http://avalanche.noblogs.org