Especifismo Ft. Saint Andrew

The first organization to promote the concept of a specifies MOO was the Federation Anarchista Uruguaya or the FAU, which is founded in nineteen fifty six by anarchist Milton's who embraced the idea of an organization that was specifically anarchist. But those who don't know, not long after, rather two decades after ni UM, the US installed a dictatorship in Uruguay, the last from nine. The FA you survived that dictatorship and went on to establish connections with other South American

anarchist revolutionaries. So they helped to support the founding of the Fedahao Anarchista Gaochia or fer G. I don't know if I'm pronounced that correctly. The Federes shall an Artista Kola and the Ferres shall an Arkista the Rio de Janeiro or f the r G in their respective regions of Brazil, and they also helped to found the Argentinean organization as Alka, which means rebel. While only coming onto

stage in Latin America within the last few decades. The ideas that really make up A specifies more tasan a historic threat that's really run to the anarchist movement internationally since the beginning. UM. It may as we get into like what is spect feasion is and stuff, it may

sound very similar to platform is um. Are you all familiar with that current Yeah, I'm from familiar with platforms a little bit, but we can probably, I don't know, explain it for the people at at at home who are not as, who do not spend as much time thinking about old, old, old anarchist terms right right right,

so their generic listener or viewer or whatever. UM. Platform is UM began with a document that was written in nine by the former Peasant Army leader Nestor Maknu either Met and other militants of the Yellow Truda or Workers

Cause group. They published the document called Organizational Platform of the Libertarian Communists and it was written in response to well being exiled from the Russian Revolution um and having to struggle really to find their foot in after the Bolsheviks turn the work of Soviets into instruments of one party rule. UM. So the Power Space Group, the Deal Truder. They really criticized the anarchist movement for a lack of organization.

So they proposed an alternative that is controversial to some anarchists, but it's essentially a general union of anarchists based on anarchist communism that would strive for theoretical and tactical unity. And I focused on class struggle and labor unions. Obviously, platform is um like all political ideas, it's not a static you know, the world has progressed sick significant lee in a century, so um. While there is an emphasis

and workers struggle and class struggle. UM. When you speak to most platforms today, I would say, um, obviously I don't have stats on that. I would say most platforms can recognize that, you know, the no war with the class war is a bit reductive. UM. I've also noticed, actually that platformism has been getting a bit more popularity lately. I don't know if it's just me and my perception. But I don't know if you' all seen that I have.

I've not seen tons of it here. A lot of the type of anarchism I'm around, or at least see is is not is not in this vein. But most most of the stuff I see is like around UM, like the kind of like live anarchy type kind of strains um and more individualists. Right, But that's just I think a very like Pacific Northwest specific thing that the anarchists here just kind of generally trend in that direction. So I'm not sure what it's literally like across like

this country in other places around the world. Yeah, I know, I know, I know, I've definitely seen it. Especially I think I think it's it's I don't know, almost think it's bigger a few years ago. But back like there is a big spike of black rose um serious group for a while, and yeah, people who like called themselves like anarcho communists or anarcho syndicalists kind of generally swam in this general ocean. Yeah, I definitely saw that as a bigger thing in than now, at least like locally

from my area. And I think I will say, yeah, the blacks people. A lot of them, like very very specifically were specific based, and a lot of it was based on like people who had like experiences with a specific moment very as ways, right right, yeah, because I was actually just about to say, I think that black Rose is more as specificity than Platform is. But of course there is you know, a lot of overlap between

these two currents, right, Um. As for my experience with like platform and some and stuff, have seen UM discussions of it happening more. I mean, that's all I can really see that I've seen. UM. Have you ever read once? But at least if discussions are happening, the likelihood of things coming out of it might be a bit. In Greece, I guess another current that UM has been part of the anarchists milieu, psychgeist wave whatever is organizational dualism, which

came out to the nineteen twenties Italian anarchist movement. So they use the tomb to describe involvements of anarchists both as members of anarchists specific political organizations and also as militants in the labor movement. In Spain, the Friends of Druti group emerged to oppose the Gradual reviews Cell, the Smash Revolution n and they also ended up emulating some of the ideas of the platform by criticizing you know, the cnt F phase, c ant f AIS, gradual reformism

and collaboration with republican government. Um. So the spars of war and stuff. You know, there's a lot of forces that play and we're gonna get into now, but it is, I would say, as a side note, important to recognize that there is no model it when it comes to like these sort of civil wars and historical events. Um, you really have to look at things in context and you know, it's not trying to strip them away from

the goings on at the time. Also, the Chinese anarchist movement of the nineteen tens um advocated for similar ideas. I'm going to try to pronounce the name of the group, hopefully don't get castled, but it's the who Shuang Fu Kong, Shan Jui Tong, She's a way, I think, which is the Society of Anarchists Communist Comrades. And yeah, they advocated for a lot of similar ideas. So there's a lot of different currents around the world influenced by you know,

the historic conditions. But the general thread that you know anarchists need to get together and work as a unit is you know what's thrust in it, right and specifies more, is just a fresh continuation of this threat of this trend. So what is that? What is the specifies more exactly the three key concepts um that I see emphasized again and again. One the need for specifically anarchist organization built

around a unity of ideas and practice. Two, the use of the specifically anarchist organization to theorize and develop strategic political and organizing work. And three active involvement in and building of autonomous and popular social movements, which is described as the process of social institution. So kind of core to the whole specificity current is which is rather antithectical some of the trends that I've seen in the past

couple of years. It's sort of a rejection of this left unity idea, right, this idea that there can be these this sort of big tent organization that can somehow estab ash all these different visions simultaneously. Right. So I specificity reject the idea of just unity of unity's sake, because they feel it boils down to sort of Louis

common denominate to kind of wishy washy politics. They feel it when unity is preferred at all costs, it leaves very little room for unified action or developed political discussion. In fact, in my experience, when you have like a lot of political heterogene um, there tends to be a lot of unproductive drama lack of better word. Obviously, people of different political stripes should work together, um, And there's

no like harm in that. But at the same time, when it comes to certain types of organizations, having a sense of ideological unity is I would say pretty important. As you know, you don't want to have all these different groups constantly butting heads for all these different visions. You know, you want to have at least some sense

that we're moving in sync. Right, So you're not going to have some people who are trying to establish social democracy and some people who are trying to get like this workers state code and code, or you know, people who just want i don't know, like a higher minimum reach, right. I mean, everyone's on a different stage of their political journey.

But what specificity try to emphasize is that while we can work within these larger social movements, um, it's important that artists specifically come together to try to shape those movements in an organized way. And I'll explain because it kind of sounds a bit like anangotism for some people, this idea that you know, these this cabal of like revolutionaries are trying to manipulate things behind the scenes. But um, really, what a specificitts argue is that and I guess needed space.

They need space for like common strategy and reflection and collective responsibility and you know, a place to discuss plans and build trust and share analysis and you know, put together shorts and long term goals all that jazz. Um. So will the specificitys do reach out to and work with social movements regardless of whether they fit this code

and code anarchist purity test um. And I see that with my tongue planted family and cheek of course, Um, they want to make sure that they can sue still as an active minority, so that these movements aren't diluted. And so I noticed like throwing out a lot of different woods and freezers and ideas, um, you know, things like ideological unity and the need for sort of a consensus within the group. Um. And speaking of I've spoken about consensus on my channel before, so I have a

breakdown on it. People can check out if they're like, um, I was spoke of unified strategy, right, So you're not just joking around, you actually have mapped out sort of strategy. Like for example, black socialists in America. They aren't like a specifically a specificity or to my knowledge, but you can see um that they have like a unified, like clearly leader strategy and they're making moves to make it

to achieve it, and they're very public about those moves, right. Um. I also I want to emphasize, of course, in the specifies more the whole idea of this active minority. You know, it's not just a bunch of like it's not like a path of book club, right. And a specificity group is a group of people who are passionate about you know this cause um, and obviously passionate people have this habit of for they can more than they can chew. Right.

So what I would advise like a specificity and a specificity judgment adjacent groups and really just organizations in general, is that keep your size in mind, keep achievable goals within sight, because if you don't you know, it's very easy to burn out very quickly. Yeah. Um. With the specificity groups, it's important that they understand their responsibility, but

also that they understand their limits. Lastly, and very importantly, social institution, I think is one of the most important parts for specificity mo and I think even if you do want to take anything away from like specificity specifies more, you at the very least like implement social institution or at least concepts within social institution into organizing, right because obviously, um,

and I guess a kind of fewer number. But what social institution tries to point out I guess, or tries to develop within a movement, it's just awareness that the people who are making these moves from organizing and whatnot, that they don't relinquish their power to like other figures

or forces or parties or whatever the case may be. Right, Um, Social institutions times in the belief that the oppressed but the most revolutionary sector society and the seed of future revolutionary transformations society lies already in these classes and social groupings. So it doesn't mean socialization doesn't mean like acting within single issue advocacy campaigns or you know, like trying to

take over people's existing struggles. It means getting involved in daily fights and daily struggles people to better their own conditions. It means, you know, connecting with workers, connecting with immigrants, connecting across neighborhoods, working towards racial liberation, working within students struggles and tenant struggles. As people are like part of these struggles, they become conscious of their place in society, right, And part of our rule is to try to develop

their consciousness. So as people are tempered and tested and recreated, they see their position in the what we're looking for in the pecking order. Right. They see that there are forces that play that are keeping them down, their structures play that are keeping them down, and they change from just being like social classes to being active social forces. So they're brought together by organic methods and by self

organized cohesion. What you notice of the popular movements, like for example, Black Lives Matter, is that the unlike what some conservatives might assume, the Black Lives Matter organization wasn't the one like pulling the strings, you know, like the official group wasn't there, you know, telling people okay, march here, puting that right here, move that you know, it's like the people themselves came together and you know, really expressed

the desire for change. And so really, as they become self conscious actors, aware of their power, of their voice, of their nemesis, which is the ruling elites that control the social order, a specificitys try to keep that thrust. Right. What a specificity argue is that essentially there's an anarchist on the current two popular social movements that should be preserved and maintained and cultivated. Right with popular movements, Um, they're very quickly co opted by impositions of leadership or

by you know, academic elites or by political parties. But specificity aren't there to try to make groups identify as anarchists, right, They're there to just maintain that thrust, to be self organized and to fight for their own interests because ultimately that's our natural impulse as months. You know, it's really the propaganda that tells us, you know, um, like you have to go through these proper channels. You know, you have to vote with your dollar or you know, food

for these politicians or whatever the case may be. Converse, and all these different things call up your representatives. The natural thrust of a person is not to like relinquished control of themselves, you know, it's to try to maintain that um and so a specifics trying to push against the propaganda that keeps us from maintaining that, push against the co optation that ships that from us. Soup. Do any sort of automatic critiques of a specifies move come

to mind for y'all? I'm not sure about like critiques per se. We need to think about it more, But a few things that come to mind around so, like you talked a bit about like the difference between like left unity and creating like an anarchist unity, um, and for people at home, I would like to maybe extrapolate

why those are different things. I know you have a good video on left unity already, but like in terms of trying to like, you know, if if one of the goals being creating like an anarchist organization that kind of unifies different anarchists, how that is a different type of unity than just left unity in general. UM. I

think that might be a point of clarification. And then the other thing I was wondering about is like how does this intersect in terms of like individual goals versus like group goals or like organizational goals and so like, because like there's a there's a back and forth between like personal autonomy and then you know these type of social movements that kind of almost gained their own thrust.

Yeh right, right, Yes. To the point about the difference between Left unity and anarchist unity, um, well, obviously artists or soon fairly heterogeneous. Um, I think our general thrust for self determination and autonomy and that kind of thing is it brings us together. You know. The difference between like say anarchist unity, where they're differently some I would say key disagreements within the milieu and left unity is that I feel there are some extremely incompatible factors that

prevent Left unity from being viable. Yeah, when there's a thrust among significant segments, I mean really every non libertarian segment of you know, they couldn't get left to uh funn our popular energy towards state institutions, whether it be through insurrectionary social democracy or reformist social democracy in a case of amounts and stock damage respectively. Um, I think that that really keeps us from really working together on

anything more than small goals and small projects. I mean, we've really seen the whole left unity idea of fall apart, you know, through wars and through even just like what should be discussions between people, you know, like the First International literally split because of the differences between you know, the so called left currents, you know, between the anarchists and the other socialists. So last unity is now something that I even to achieve. I think most people know

that about me by now, um. But regard to like anarchist unity, and of course the differences between an artists, I think the general rusted to maintain the autonomy and self determination of the people and of the social movements via inserting ourselves in is what really clues us together.

And of course that alone, I don't know if that's enough to maintain in a specificity organization, because you know, like I noted, a specificitys try to um develop deeper level you know, strategies and theoretical discussion and that kind of thing, And so with those sort of discussions, you know you're gonna see a lot more of the distinctions

bearing out. But at the very least, UM, I think anarchists generally could benefit from a degree of at least unity in the sense of maintaining or soularity in the sense of maintaining the libertarian thrust of popular movements. I asked the other thing that you had noted about the sort of friction between individual goals and organizational goals, between autonomy and sort of how social movements end up taking

on like an energy of their own. Um. To be quite honest, I don't think I have like a fully developed answer for that. Yeah, um, Because, on the one hand, a social movement that forgets that it is about, you know, deliberation of individuals is you know, in my view of social movement that's quickly going to and obtaining against the

people who are you know, fueling it. At the same time, I interacting with like a lot of people what pretty selfish or pretty egotistical or just argumentative for the sake of it. Sorry, So if you're gonna say something, yeah, I was just like, the thing that keeps popping up into my head is, you know, one of the things that gets misconstrued all the time is who's calling the shots. And I kind of feel like what you're saying is everybody in a way, right, Yeah? Yeah, I think that like,

which is good sometimes but not good other times. Obviously exactly because I think it's it's very easy to fall into this sort of um almost reactionary I like island mentality not island mentality is incribean islan mentality isn't fussiness and as an island around like autonomy and you know personal freedom, you know, like this renting idea that you know on step map property, you know that kind of

thing just let people do whatever. It's kind of like most alarchrocaplist conception of what like freedom and autonomy is I think an important part of autonomy and you know freedom and yeah, like this project is you know, accountability and is you know, like consequences like social consequences and how your actions affect others. You know, like what you said he was to recognize is that we are not in fact islands. You know, our actions or behavioral words

affect other people. And so I think it's going to be a constant project to sort of balance um individual personalities and BROADERCT goals. But I mean, yeah, it's it's trick right, Like you know, we're you're talking about like some kind of you know, group organization to work together to kind of you know, think of achievable goals and create steps to get there um. And I feel among a lot of people who proudly declare themselves anarchists and

at least like and they're extremely vocal. Like these are like people both like online and in person organizing that are very are very like vocal and try to very much like make their place known. We've seen trends away from this direction in terms of like rejecting the idea of goals and demands and just you know, like this this more insurrectionary kind of tendency of just making total destroy for the sake of it and committee, yeah, and

and and and that. I mean, like I know that like platform is m is kind of like it's not like Antiens insurrectionary, but it's like it's it definitely critiques that type of instructionary rend um. So I'm thinking about, like, you know, this idea and like how with with with this kind of general you know, decentralized, no no demands, no goals kind of general kind of direction that like

capital a anarchists are are doing. How like what's what's maybe some parts of a specific that we can actually take into account to be like hey maybe there's you know, like I I don't like, I don't like being called, like any adjective anarchist. I think it's silly. I like I like the parts, um, I think earlier this year or yeah, the last year, Like I just got to the point for you, I'm an anarchist, you know that's yeah, Yeah, I like the parton desert. It's like, I'm an anarchist

of many adjectives. I'm not, I'm not I'm not always an insurrectionary, I'm not always a syndicalist. I'm not always you know, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. Um. And I feel like that's would be really useful kind of thing for people to focus on more in terms of, yeah, it can be fun to make total destroying that it's a very base instinct, but it also would be great to like improve people's lives a little bit um and yeah, and there's like to to to kind of like dueling things.

Um and in terms that's why I do really like the part of like this type of stuff that it's really appealing to me just because I kind of already work on this myself, so I'm like, oh, I'm I'm already doing this, but it's like the it is it is like the social the social insertion side of things, I think is something that would be a much a

much better way of thinking about. Like everyone hates talking about optics because yeah, it's frustrating, but I think the social insertion method is a better framework for kind of

dealing with some of those same problems. Um. And yeah, and then like you know, there is even among insurrectionaries and all those you know, all those types, there still is like a decent amount of like group projects and stuff, and that is I think a really good thing to focus on because but yeah, there's not many anarchists, and it would be cool if there was more. And if we just focus on the parts that make people go, oh that's kind of silly and pointless, then we're not

really going to grow anarchism that much. Um. So highlighting the parts they are like, oh, yeah, you're actually helping people.

That's gonna convince a lot more people who are kind of already trending in that general general direction, and then hey, maybe in a few years they can also be doing silly destruction for fun, because it is it is fun sometimes, right, Yeah, Like this, as you mentioned optics, I reminded it is kind of pet peeve I have with some you know, instant people where they try to treat like ideologies or specifically anarchism as like a pr project that we have

to like constantly be trying to shift the optics and micromanaged like every aspect. Like No, I think that as remedy for like, because you're not going to match the power of mass media. What you can do to push back against a sort of propaganda is help people, and help people and identify as anarchists as you're helping people, right, Like, that's the easiest and quickest way to dispel people's notions

and like conceptions of what an anarchist is. If we were to take like socialization right and sort of, I would say, there's still it's a bit and individualize it a bit. Um. I would say that as a practice, you know, just even if you don't know any any other anarchists in your area, right, just being there, being in these movements helping people and you know, saying you know,

this is what I believe. Um, Just talking to people about what you believe as a place and as you're helping them, you know, that goes a long way, much longer than any you know, poster UM campaign or like wheat pasting initiative or artwork um you know, wall arts

or whatever, you know, like actively helping people. Of course wall lot has its place and double little bit myself, but you know it's it's not it's ultimately like talking to people and helping people and being their people and being honest about your intentions that I think, you know, we should working towards. And I think those types of projects are something that the specific model like excels that in terms of like creating like a unity of anarchists who get like who have like a goal in mind

and then go out to achieve the goal. Helping people like doing like doing like like like direct directly helping people is something that that type of organization model is kind of the best at UM because you can yeah, really like or aize things much better with a small group like that and create goals that are actually very achievable, whether it be you know, building a community kitchen or building you know, heating centers for like for the winter,

like under under bridges or whatever. You know, all those types of starting community gardens, all those types of things are I think what this type of model really excels at and Yeah, you don't need to change your ideology

to this one word because that's that's silly. But you can pick up different parts of it, be like, yeah, that actually seems like a useful way of the world that you want, you know, a politicians just ruling hand, co opt our project, you know, like just basic things like that, you know, and then from there, you know, as you are talking with people and meeting people who

are passionate about issues in these social movements. You know, not only does it keep you from developing this sort of um pretumularly online um in group kind of mentality, it also opens up opportunities you to develop your and this is on the topic of like the individualist social institution, it prints or presents oportunities for you to develop your own had no like book club, and then from that

book club could come and a specificity organization. You know, as you begin to develop your politics and your shared politics, more can come out of it. So don't underestimate, you know, the potential of just putting in the work and talking to people. Yeah, you know, just being there on the ground.

One of the best things you can do to help stay alive in the well things are heading in the direction that they're heading societally is like making friends and forming a friend group and then yeah, like actually doing stuff together. That makes dealing with everything else that's happening so so much better. And hey, remember our old friend Nest Nest remarking started with a book club, so hey, you know, you never know where book clubs could lead

exactly exactly. It's actually really interesting. Um video clip of Marie book Gin talking about book clubs and like the power and potential book clubs. Um. I don't know if we could probably link that in the show notes, but it's like a really interesting make sure drinks. So ultimately, a specificity believe that social movements we reached their own

logic of creating revolution. Not when they all just decide to identify as anarchists and weave the black flag, but when the majority reach a consensus and a consciousness of their power and the ability to exercise their power in their daily lives. So even if they do not adopt anarchism,

they still consciously adopt the ideas embedded within it. They are multiple political currents will exist within any movement, and so it's important that we as anarchists, and I guess specifically as a specificity are there to actively combat the opportunism that come from you know, these forces from this whether electoral or find goddess within these social movements as well, we can also help to push them further through um,

you know, pushing for more direct democracy and consensus, through federalism, and confederating with other social movements through you know, building up the mutual aid within these movements. Like if you are, for example, part of a mutual aid group in one neighborhood, you can push them to start reaching out with mutually groups and other neighborhoods and creating a network of mutual aid groups that can build into something bigger, you know,

combining resources and manpower to really push the revolution, you know. Lastly, I will say that for those who are trying to like get into the whole specifies more thing. Um. I mean, you could start a new organization from scratch. But again, like the easiest thing to do is suggest getting there

to people and be honest with the people. And I keep saying the people, even though I have my critiques of this amorphous conception of the people, but the point remains that our goal is to spread our ideas, not to get people on any particular ideology, but to get a liberatory consciousness on the ground and to generalize that consciousness.

And for those who are curious about the specifies more in action and social institutions, specifically the Federal show Anarchista GAUSHA in Brazil has worked with neighborhood committees and urban villages and slums. They've built alliances with the rank and file members of the rural land as workers movement the must and they've also worked with trash and recyclables collectors

UM Brazil. For those who don't know, as a lot of high levels of temporary uh and contingent employment, underemployment and unemployment. So the working class isn't how will you traditionally conceive it as like just surviving primarily off of wage labor, but it's more so this is sort of

subsistence work informal economy, gig economy can deal. So being able to connect with these when trash collectors, for example, who are part of this out of the economy, the FIG has built a strong relationship with them and help them to form their own national organization to you know, push for their interests and to collectivize their recycling Operations specifies More is also um worked with the has also worked in the efforts of the Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front

in South Africa, as they also are strong opponents of social institution and you know, really being embedded in these social movements in Argentina, in Brazil, in South Africa, and in the US in the case of Black Rows Anarchist Federation specifies, More has been building as a key point reference and so I'll leave us off with a code from the use of Front Collective, an anarchist group online.

If libertarian socialists merely organized with libertarian socialists, and they will lose contact with the broader population they need to be reaching. If libertarian socialists merely joined social movements without advocating various libertarian socialist practices that can be used, then social movements can easily drift into being susceptible to reformist

and strategic liberal and Lendinist tendencies and opportunists. If libertarian socialists merely joined social movements and try to spread ideas and practices in mere individual ways, they'll be far less successful than a well thought out, coordinated effort. And if theoretically specific libertarian socialist groups try to control social movements and popular organizations from the top down. Then such specific groups sacrifice their own principles and would reproduce hierarchical organizer.

In contrast to authoritarian fine goddess conceptions, specifies more groups and a specificity put their activity towards a self organization of movements and organizations ultimately, as I honestly love this code from Shanti Alston, power to the people, where it stays with the people. Peace, Yes, Andrew, please please plug your plug doubles because they are good and people should in fact listen to them, right, Thank you, Safety Foost.

Of course, I will say that you can follow me on Twitter at Underscore Seeing Drew and on YouTube at st Andrew's um and you can find me here apparently twice a month, which is pretty great. Shout out. It could happen here. Take care everyone, Peace again these again it could happen here as a production of pool Zone Media. For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website cool zone media dot com, or check us out on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

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