Listen, Anarchist!
Encyclopedia
Listen, Anarchist! is an influential 1987 essay by Chaz Bufe
on the internal dynamics of the American anarchist movement
.
In this essay, Bufe launches heavy criticism against anarcho-primitivists, including Fredy Perlman
and the Vancouver Five eco-terrorist
group, as well as the publications Fifth Estate, Resistance, The Spark, and Open Road. In a section entitled "What Can Be Done?", Bufe advocates minimal use of violence in revolutionary political struggle, condemning the vanguardist "urban guerillas" of insurrectionary anarchism
. He criticizes these and other so-called "lifestyle" anarchists in the movement for deliberately alienating mainstream society, and falling to victim to dangerous irrationality
and mysticism
.
In his account of "marginalised" anarchists, Bufe criticises the anti-work
tendency in contemporary anarchism
, accusing some of its advocates of being parasites
of those who do work. In response, Feral Faun wrote an article called "The Bourgeois Roots of Anarcho-Syndicalism" in which he claims that the endorsement of work showed that anarcho-syndicalists "embrace the values essential to capitalism", only objecting to who is in charge. The Summer 2005 issue of Green Anarchy
included an "update on workerist morality", in which they characterised "Listen, Anarchist!" as Sam Dolgoff
's Relevance and Murray Bookchin's "Listen Marxist!" poorly rewritten by Bufe to "shake his fist at all the young rapscallions who were throwing rocks at his perfect, beautiful philosophy."
In the introduction to the second edition, Janet Biehl
proposes that many of the tendencies within anarchism that Bufe criticises stem from its individualist
wing, inspired by the philosophy of Max Stirner
, which she maintains is the source of "lifestyle anarchists" who are at odds with the ethical socialist
tradition of anarchism. Biehl criticises the perceived lack of concern for morality
among post-left anarchists such as Bob Black
.
Allan Antliff
described the work as "abusive", and said that its distribution by the Workers Solidarity Alliance
belied the organisation's pretensions of anti-sectarianism
. Mutualist
Kevin Carson recommended the pamphlet as suggested reading for "getting from here to there".
Chaz Bufe
Charles Bufe, better known as Chaz Bufe, is a contemporary American Anarchist author.Bufe writes most notably on the problems faced by the modern anarchist movement...
on the internal dynamics of the American anarchist movement
Anarchism in the United States
Anarchism in the United States spans a wide range of anarchist philosophy, from individualist anarchism to anarchist communism and other less known forms. America has two main traditions, native and immigrant, with the native tradition being strongly individualist and the immigrant tradition being...
.
In this essay, Bufe launches heavy criticism against anarcho-primitivists, including Fredy Perlman
Fredy Perlman
Fredy Perlman was an author, publisher and activist. His most popular work, the book Against His-Story, Against Leviathan!, details the rise of state domination with a retelling of history through the Hobbesian metaphor of the Leviathan. The book remains a major source of inspiration for...
and the Vancouver Five eco-terrorist
Eco-terrorism
Eco-terrorism usually refers to acts of violence or sabotage committed in support of ecological, environmental, or animal rights causes against persons or their property....
group, as well as the publications Fifth Estate, Resistance, The Spark, and Open Road. In a section entitled "What Can Be Done?", Bufe advocates minimal use of violence in revolutionary political struggle, condemning the vanguardist "urban guerillas" of insurrectionary anarchism
Insurrectionary anarchism
Insurrectionary anarchism is a revolutionary theory, practice and tendency within the anarchist movement which emphasizes the theme of insurrection within anarchist practice. It is critical of formal organizations such as labor unions and federations that are based on a political programme and...
. He criticizes these and other so-called "lifestyle" anarchists in the movement for deliberately alienating mainstream society, and falling to victim to dangerous irrationality
Irrationality
Irrationality is cognition, thinking, talking or acting without inclusion of rationality. It is more specifically described as an action or opinion given through inadequate reasoning, emotional distress, or cognitive deficiency...
and mysticism
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
.
In his account of "marginalised" anarchists, Bufe criticises the anti-work
Anti-work
The anti-work ethic states that labor tends to cause unhappiness, and is increasingly challenged by work performed by machines. Therefore, the quantity of labor ought to be lessened...
tendency in contemporary anarchism
Contemporary anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which consider the state, as compulsory government, to be unnecessary, harmful, and/or undesirable, and favors the absence of the state ....
, accusing some of its advocates of being parasites
Parasitism
Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host. Traditionally parasite referred to organisms with lifestages that needed more than one host . These are now called macroparasites...
of those who do work. In response, Feral Faun wrote an article called "The Bourgeois Roots of Anarcho-Syndicalism" in which he claims that the endorsement of work showed that anarcho-syndicalists "embrace the values essential to capitalism", only objecting to who is in charge. The Summer 2005 issue of Green Anarchy
Green Anarchy
Green Anarchy was a magazine published by a collective located in Eugene, Oregon. The magazine's focus was primitivism, post-left anarchy, radical environmentalism, African American struggles, anarchist resistance, indigenous resistance, earth and animal liberation, anti-capitalism and supporting...
included an "update on workerist morality", in which they characterised "Listen, Anarchist!" as Sam Dolgoff
Sam Dolgoff
Sam Dolgoff was an American anarchist and anarcho-syndicalist.Dolgoff was born in the shtetl of Ostrovno in Vitebsk, Russia, moving as a child to New York City in 1905 or 1906, where he lived in the Bronx and in Manhattan's Lower East Side where he died...
's Relevance and Murray Bookchin's "Listen Marxist!" poorly rewritten by Bufe to "shake his fist at all the young rapscallions who were throwing rocks at his perfect, beautiful philosophy."
In the introduction to the second edition, Janet Biehl
Janet Biehl
Janet Biehl is a writer associated with social ecology, the body of ideas developed and publicized by Murray Bookchin. In 1986 she attended the Institute for Social Ecology and there began a collaborative relationship with Bookchin, working intensively with him over the next two decades in the...
proposes that many of the tendencies within anarchism that Bufe criticises stem from its individualist
Individualist anarchism
Individualist anarchism refers to several traditions of thought within the anarchist movement that emphasize the individual and his or her will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and ideological systems. Individualist anarchism is not a single philosophy but refers to a...
wing, inspired by the philosophy of Max Stirner
Philosophy of Max Stirner
The philosophy of Max Stirner is credited as an influence on the development of nihilism, existentialism, post-modernism and anarchism, especially of individualist anarchism, postanarchism and post-left anarchy...
, which she maintains is the source of "lifestyle anarchists" who are at odds with the ethical socialist
Social anarchism
Social anarchism is a term originally used in 1971 by Giovanni Baldelli as the title of his book where he discusses the organization of an ethical society from an anarchist point of view...
tradition of anarchism. Biehl criticises the perceived lack of concern for morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
among post-left anarchists such as Bob Black
Bob Black
Bob Black is an American anarchist. He is the author of The Abolition of Work and Other Essays, Beneath the Underground, Friendly Fire, Anarchy After Leftism, and numerous political essays.-Writing:Some of his work from the early 1980s includes...
.
Allan Antliff
Allan Antliff
Allan W. Antliff is an anarchist activist, art critic and author who has written extensively on the topics of anarchism and art in North America....
described the work as "abusive", and said that its distribution by the Workers Solidarity Alliance
Workers Solidarity Alliance
Workers Solidarity Alliance is a United States political activist group whose politics are rooted in anarcho-syndicalism and class struggle. WSA is not a trade union or proto-union....
belied the organisation's pretensions of anti-sectarianism
Sectarianism
Sectarianism, according to one definition, is bigotry, discrimination or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group, such as between different denominations of a religion, class, regional or factions of a political movement.The ideological...
. Mutualist
Mutualism (economic theory)
Mutualism is an anarchist school of thought that originates in the writings of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, who envisioned a society where each person might possess a means of production, either individually or collectively, with trade representing equivalent amounts of labor in the free market...
Kevin Carson recommended the pamphlet as suggested reading for "getting from here to there".