As someone new to the 30 and over demographic and who’s been an anarchist for more than a third of my life, now more than ever I consider the lack of anarchists over 30 in North America to be a major problem that is severely limiting anarchism’s growth as a social movement and its ability to work with other social movements in this part of the world.
I believe the reason for this lack is partly due to the fact that most anarchists in North America have little connection to or involvement in any cultural tradition, European or otherwise, and instead are primarily part of the punk subculture, which is a derivative of Euro-North-American capitalist culture. Both the punk subculture and its parent culture are very transient and fickle, based largely on instant gratification, the latest fads and the ability to remake oneself over and over again. There is a lack of strong and meaningful intergenerational connections or being rooted in any one place.
When European anarchists immigrated to North America in the late 19th century, they brought some of their cultural traditions with them. They had families they were close to and that were often involved in the anarchist movement. They also engaged in a vibrant anarchist culture, with anarchist schools for children, picnics, plays, music, bars and social clubs, etc. Anarchist families who weren’t otherwise involved in the movement would host anarchists on the run from the law.
By the 1940s, the movement had been almost totally destroyed by government repression, including execution, imprisonment and deportation.
The anarchist movement that re-emerged in North America in the 1960s mostly lacked any connection or continuity to the previous European immigrant movement. Few anarchists from the ‘60s to the ‘90s are still active anarchists today on this continent.
I believe the blame can also be placed in part on the lack of coherent and ongoing social projects and engagement in social struggles from the ‘60s and on. There are few if any social spaces that have lasted since then or that last more than a few years after they’re founded. Rather than organizing social projects and struggles based on class conflict in the workplace, the streets or neighborhoods, most anarchists are primarily wrapped-up in punk subcultural pursuits such as bicycle advocacy and Food Not Bombs. Others see anarchy as a game of running around, adding up and comparing direct actions, and chasing after and supporting indigenous peoples’ struggles. Longer term endeavors and more active participation in social movements are not so enthusiastically pursued.
In contrast, the pre-1940s European immigrant anarchist movement in North America was based on social projects and struggles which were themselves rooted in the struggle of the working class.
With the decline of the factory and the rise of the service industry in North America, the anarchist movement has been removed from its traditional location of struggle, with nothing to replace it aside from the punk show, Critical Mass bike ride, Food Not Bombs serving or the here-today-gone-tomorrow infoshop. Anarchism used to be a majority working class movement whereas it’s now mostly middle class youth in rebellion against their parents and the alienation of capitalist society. Anarchism is now first of all a drop-out subculture. It used to be part of and engaged with the working class.
Obviously, to some extent transience is natural for youth, but in the context of North America it is taken to an extreme that seems to indicate the influence capitalist society has on it. Younger anarchists need to be more conscious of this dynamic and also seek out and learn from older people, not necessarily just anarchists. Older anarchists need to pass on useful information and lessons when it’s possible for the youngsters to receive it in a respectful way.
Anarchists of all ages need to not only develop personally but also socially, and to build and maintain longer-term social spaces, projects and struggles that can provide coherence and continuity for the anarchist movement.
-By Newtothis Thirtysomething Thing
