#platformism

Platformism is such a wonderfully Nestor Makhno ideology. Like given all of his actions in the black army it makes sense that it would be his vision of what anarchism ought to be. All of the authoritarian tendencies he had are well reflected in the ideological undercurrents of platformism.

The conquest of power by the social democratic parties through parliamentary methods in the framework of the present system will not further the emancipation of labour one little bit for the simple reason that real power, and thus real authority, will remain with the bourgeoisie, which has full control of the country's economy and politics. The role of the socialist authorities will in that case be confined to reforms, to improving that same bourgeois system.

In reading the introduction to the Platform, it is quite evident that the writers saw the failure of anarchists on essentially political terms. The problem, as they saw it, was that anarchists lacked a unified program to offer the proletarian struggle, a unified theory and practice for guiding the class struggle in the direction of libertarian communism. What the original platformists did not seem to realize is that by proposing the question in these terms, they do not escape the logic of authoritarian and statist revolutionaries. They are still posing the question of revolutionary effectiveness in terms of a power/counterpower struggle, rather than in terms of the destruction of all institutional power. For all practical intents and purposes the "General Union of Anarchists" that they called for has the function of a revolutionary PARTY, with all that demands. It is the source of the revolutionary consciousness of the workers and peasants. It is to prepare them for the social revolution. It is to educate them and to provide a sort of leadership. By considering the problem in essential political terms, the comrades of Dielo Trouda drift[ed] in a Leninist logic, not necessarily in terms of authoritarianism, but certainly in terms of the idea of the special organization as a consciousness outside of the class.

Looking for Anarchists to Follow

We as anarchists need to start getting organized. Like, a lot of us are involved in various disparate groups (FNB, antifa, a local housing collective, a clinic or safe injection site, a DIY space, Black Rose, the IWW, maybe a left-wing gun club), but I feel like at this point we really need to coalesce into a more cohesive group. We need to federate under one name, even as our groups maintain their autonomy and new ones spring up, if we’re going to present an effective force for anarchism.