I appreciate Kristian Williams’ pamphlet, both the thought put into it and the challenge it represents. I learned a lot from its history, and in particular gained insight into the behavior of anarchists I meet today. Williams traces some practices of contemporary US anarchism back to pacifism, looking at how contemporary anarchists unthinkingly accept much of that philosophy. In my view, that influence led to the movement prioritizing providing comfort to its participants, rather than organizing to change the circumstances that led to the discomfort they feel with society in the first place. This emphasis accepts the inevitability of capitalism and is therefore a strategy to live within its parameters. But I don’t think capitalism will allow us these spaces. Instead, it has to be overthrown and not allowed to come back.
Anarchist Kinships in California’s San Gabriel Valley
By Daniel Talamantes
Early twentieth-century San Gabriel Valley, California was an ideal location for Mexican migrants seeking work opportunities and hoping to escape the Mexican Revolution. Initially, they were seen as a convenient source of labor to fill a void left by the Johnson Reed Act of 1917 … Read more