Reading recommendations: left / council communism
- Thread starter frogwoman
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frogwoman
No amount of cajolery...
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
What do you think 'luv?thanks, am at work so no time but will make a start on it at lunch
Fozzie Bear
Well-Known Member
I also think this - and actually when I look back on things I wrote in my twenties I do get a bit
sometimes. But actually writing stuff and getting it out there is one of the best/only ways to improve."It was when I found out I could make mistakes that I knew I was on to something." - Ornette Coleman
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
That comrades, is the dialectic in action.
It's also the only way to stop the shit writing. Or at least, to drown it out.
It's also the only way to stop the shit writing. Or at least, to drown it out.
frogwoman
No amount of cajolery...
I think I've read some of it before. I will need to read it again - I'm not sure what he says about some of the capitalist class being killed - iirc that's happened in other regimes as well (the russian revolution obviously!) will need to read it again and in more depth - no time until at least friday night ..
sihhi
Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered
I think I have that rare thing unscanned, unposted e et m pamphlets - a 1980s one of "wildcat" "lightning" train driver strikes in the SNCF - "harsh" tactics but extremely effective oones.
And a pamphlet on the COBAS unions in Italy around the same time.
chilango
Hypothetical Wanker
I have (or at least had) that COBAS one.
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
I have the COBAS one, the font and small type made it impossible to OCR. (the echnages/Dacvid brown one?). Sihhi is that the Henri Simon 86-87 one, yellow cover? Got that as well but same font/type problem.
chilango
Hypothetical Wanker
I've a feeling I have both of these.
butchersapron when I finally get around to getting these down from my parents attic do you want 'em? There may well be a fair pile of similar things. There may not. I saw a copy of http://libcom.org/library/eclipse-re-emergence-communist-movement up there and some camatte. There ought to be more besides, Sit stuff too.I won't be keeping much of it.
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
I'll have anything you've got 
Might want to give frogwoman first shout though.
Might want to give frogwoman first shout though.butchersapron
Bring back hanging
Should be able to pick up, will give others first pickings though - cheers! The commune got either Ken Weller's or Bob Potters (both ex-solidarity) collections a few months back. Lucky bastards.
frogwoman
No amount of cajolery...
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
There is a new archive of communist stuff (deliberate small c) opening up in london quite soon - loads of autonomist, council communist, left-communist type stuff - and i don't mean a social centre, i mean a funded and curated thing. Last i heard it had the terrible name PRAXIS though.
chilango
Hypothetical Wanker
I won't have them till the Summer I'm afraid, but they're yours.
sihhi
Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered
I can't get to them, but please, don't let them go to ruin, like liberal Granta author Julian Baggini did with his 32-volume Britannica Encyclopedia.
There are plenty of people that can read and understand even a little French in this country, however I doubt there's an archive with them in Britain.
Yes both Echange et Mouvements. Have a few ICC type magazines from the early 1990s related specifically to OP about left communism.
To OP it's worth remembering what Neil Fettes said about it all:
"The fate of these [left communist/councilist] organizations and journals rests upon the evolution of the class struggle, not on their ability to develop to "win the masses to their banner." It would be foolish to simply imagine that the ideas and theories developed by the Council Communists half a century ago can be mechanically applied to the world of today; perhaps even as foolish as trying to apply the ideas of a faction of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The Council Communists were aware that many of their ideas were situation-specific, and without a doubt much of their writings have been passed by through the course of capitalist development. Nevertheless the council form continues to appear in revolutionary situations and the belief that the key to human emancipation is not State or party, but working people themselves is surely still important to the world of today."
chilango
Hypothetical Wanker
Oh I only have a box or two max of bits. Sadly more stuff has been lost to the ether. I lost a lot of leaflets and pamphlets during one move, along with several years worth of various publications. Most of my foreign language stuff stayed in its country of origin. All my Spanish language Zapo stuff, French stuff, Portuguese stuff etc. (though I did salvage an original poster or two from the 74 revolution, that are stored safely). Other stuff was moved prior to expected police raids waaaay back.
It really is just the rump of my "collection" left now. But froggy I'll bring it down in the Summer and let you know what there is and we can figure out how to get it to you.
chilango
Hypothetical Wanker
I've just ordered myself a copy of Steve Wright's "Storming Heaven". £25! Crazy. Good job I had a gift voucher.
Looking at my bookshelves I'd also recommend John Zerzan's "elements of refusal". Some of that dates from before he went loopy. I have the loopy stuff too, but I couldn't say there's much worth reading in it.
Looking at my bookshelves I'd also recommend John Zerzan's "elements of refusal". Some of that dates from before he went loopy. I have the loopy stuff too, but I couldn't say there's much worth reading in it.
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
I'm not sure how I feel about the council communists/left communists. Theoretically they had some persuasive arguments, especially around Leninism and the Russian Revolution. But from what I've read it seems there was only a small window of opportunity for these groups to really gain a foothold (1917-21?), and they simply failed to gain a foothold within the w/c, unlike the social democrats and Leninists. Why did they fail to do this? Objective conditions or failures in their organisation/theory?
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
In that period they were larger than the KPD in germany - actually they were in the KPD as the majority, but somehow managed to get expelled at the Heidelberg conference in 1919. The whole thing has to be looked at with a wider view than having the right ideas but not getting them adopted by the class. Regionally, and in terms of the medium-long term development of capital most obviously - haven't got any time to write more right now though...
frogwoman
No amount of cajolery...
I read a bit about the KAPD on libcom (I think), I had no idea it even existed tbh! I'd be really interested to know more about it and why it didn't take off in the way the KPD did, what happened to reduce its support etc. Was it because the official bolshevik/leninist party had more funding from the Russian state, more access to resources etc?
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