[PAA-Discuss] Questions on Socialism and Anarchism

[ChasMauch at aol.com]

Kris,
 
The book "Homage to Catalonia" by George Orwell is about his experiences  
fighting in the Spanish civil war on the Republican side in the 1930s. Here 
is  an excerpt from the first chapter taken from Wikipedia:
 
The book begins in late December 1936. Orwell describes the atmosphere in  
_Barcelona_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona)  as it appears to him 
at this time. " The  anarchists were still in virtual control of _Catalonia_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia)  and the revolution was still in 
full  swing..It was the first time that I had ever been in a town where the 
working  class was in the saddle..every wall was scrawled with the _hammer  
and sickle_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammer_and_sickle) .. every shop and 
café had an inscription saying that it  had been _collectivized_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collectivisation) ." "_The  Anarchists_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism_in_Spain) " (referring to the Spanish _CNT_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederación_Nacional_del_Trabajo)  and _FAI_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federación_Anarquista_Ibérica) ) were "in control", 
_tipping_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipping)  was prohibited by workers 
themselves, and  servile forms of speech, such as "Señor" or "Don", were 
abandoned.  He goes on to describe the scene at the _Lenin_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Lenin)  Barracks (formerly the _Lepanto_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lepanto)  Barracks) where militiamen were given 
"what was  comically called 'instruction'" in preparation for fighting at the 
front.
 
I read the book several years ago because Noam Chomsky had recommended it  
very highly - I think he professes to be an anarcho-syndicalist. It is a 
great  story as well as good history and a fascinating read. Gives some insight 
into  what anarchism would be like and the fierce resistance it would face 
from the  whole capitalist world.
 
Charlie  
 
In a message dated 10/27/2010 3:42:46 P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
graham2639 at mindspring.com writes:

 
Can  someone please attempt to answer these questions for me? Ron and I 
have been  reading about anarcho-syndicalism, anarcho-collectivism and 
anarcho-communism  in order to better understand the terms. I tend to lean heavily 
anarchist,  however, I have questions as to whether an anarchist system could 
work on a  macro level as opposed to a micro level. Basically, I am 
wondering whether the  view of an anarchist society is utopian. I am wondering if 
we must first  establish a socialist system as a transitory system before 
evolving to a  communist or anarcho-communist system. Here are my  questions: 
1.)  Does anyone have specific reasons for supporting or not supporting 
socialism?  Anarchism? 
2.)  Does anyone self identify as socialist or anarchist or even communist? 
Why do  you identify as you do?  
3.)  Does anyone think that a transitional socialist system could 
eventually lead  to an anarchist system such as those I mentioned in the above  
paragraph? 
4.)  Does anyone believe the eventual abolition of the state is possible?   
5.)  Does anyone believe systemic change can take place in the United 
States  and abroad without violent overthrow of the capitalist  class? 
Please  think on these questions and supply your answers and the reasons 
you gave the  answers you did. I’m really trying to get all these concepts 
straight in my  head, and there’s a lot of information on all of them and a lot 
to think about  and digest. I find it all quite interesting, really, and I 
think it’s  important that we discuss these various economic systems and the 
pros and cons  of each. 
Thanks! 
Kris
---------------
Progressive  Action Alliance  http://progressiveactionalliance.org/
Discuss mailing  list   Discuss at paa-tx.org
To subscribe, unsubscribe, access the  archives, or change your options on 
this list, go  to:
http://paa-tx.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_paa-tx.org

To reply  only to the person posting this note, use "Reply".
To reply so that  everyone on this list receives your note, use "Reply All".
Check the "To:"  field in your message, before sending, to ensure it goes 
to the correct  address.




-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://paa-tx.org/pipermail/discuss_paa-tx.org/attachments/20101027/a9a11214/attachment.htm>