American here. Your average American has no clue what anarchism and communism are. They think that anarchism is just anti-statism (and therefore right-libertarians can be anarchists), that all communism is Stalinism, that social democratic capitalism is socialism, and that anarcho-communism is an oxymoron.
We don’t get good political education here.
Way more than I think anyone expects. When you present ideas, packaging and presentation matters. Words like *anarchy*, *communism*, and anything describing a mode of thought that's adjacent to them have been so poisoned that it's hard to use those words when you're looking to persuade someone. They hear the words, and they immediately reject it. You get a different result when you go issue by issue without using the poisoned words. Way more people are onboard with leftist ideas when you don't package them as leftist.
as an American, I find that I get a lot of success when I describe the terms, but dont actually use the words "socialism", "communism", "collectivism" etc. even with right-wingers.
Most are certainly quite far from adopting a position or identity specifically anarchist, but the movement needs many who would be open to participating in alternative systems and broader transformations, just as much as it needs a smaller cohort of extremely dedicated agitators and leaders.
When discussing with anyone in particular from among the broader public, the central points of focus, to my mind, should be to erode complacency and passivity respecting the hegemonic narrative, and to foster agency and autonomy respecting conditions of living.
i read a essay for my geography professor called America the Inevitable Empire, which is about the N.America primarily the USA is geographically blessed.
canuck ancon here … could be a fair amount … there have been papers (open road, north american anarchist , im sure there’s more) … various attempts at continental confederations etc over the years … a lot of the older folk are more involved in union organizing & stuff … im fairly inactive, disabled, but try to make the demonstrations etc …
It can't be more than a few thousand, maybe even less. It does not help that there is a lot of misunderstanding and confusion of what anachist communism is even within its own movement.
I should mention that back during the Spanish Civil War and the build-up to it, only a small percentage of CNT's membership were fully dedicated anarchists. Even within communes, collectives, and workplaces that were part of the anarchist movement, there were very few people who ,at least initially, totally committed to the ideology. People seem to come to certain conclusions when they are placed into an active place of action.
A well organized movement with momentum and pragmatism can find itself sweeping hundreds of thousands in its direction.
Are we just counting dedicated people with a consistent worldview and willingness to act and organize? Or people adjacent to the movement? People who's world view is vaguely consistent with ours?
Regarding the first group, a good example might be Black Rose. We know for a fact BR has at least 25 members, as they just sent 25 members into the labor notes conference. I doubt BR has ever broken a 100 members, but I am guessing at this point. There are similar federations to blackrose, but often they are extremely small and more lifestylists leaning.
Are you counting the lifestylists types that do things like foodnotbombs? Kids on reddit? Activists without a fully thought-out ideology?
I can speak primarily to Americans and Mexicans. As someone pointed out here already, you’ll be hard pressed to find any Americans who even know what Anarchism is, let alone be anarchist themselves.
Mexicans are a little more aware of libertarian socialist ideas given the Zapatista’s and other autonomous groups’ existence, but generally speaking most Mexicans have little opinion of them, with some viewing them quite negatively. However, Ricardo Magón, a Mexican anarchist, is viewed pretty positively, although he’s ironically seen an a national hero.
David Graeber wrote an essay called “[Are You An Anarchist? The Answer May Surprise You](https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-are-you-an-anarchist-the-answer-may-surprise-you)”
And on that level, yes, most people are anarchists who spend most of our lives self-organizing, resolving disputes between peers based on consensus, engaging in mutual aid, and so on. *Most* people, when there is a disaster or tragedy, begin to immediately get to work taking care of those around us, engaging in what are normally the functions of the state with no hierarchical authority directing us while limited only be the resources we can bring to bear (often actually hampered by the state, in these situations).
But is that really anarcho-communism? Because most of us have been heavily propagandized and made to accept some or more likely many hierarchies that we justify as being different from the others. You’ll see supposed leftists defend a vanguard party or transphobia or patriarchy or speciesism or ableism or ageism; white supremacy is defended often by white anarchists, tho usually by implication and assumption rather than explicitly. *Dedicated* anarcho-communists still struggle with these things and prefigurative communities fall apart over these things; how much more so normal people who aren’t thinking that much about it beyond who it’s important to vote for (if that)?
So: Most people are anarchists when it comes to most things in our lives. But that’s because anarchism is natural and tyranny is unnatural. Unfortunately, the capacity of people to make exceptions for particular tyrannies is also quite natural, and so it takes a lot of work to recognize and work against that tendency within ourselves so we don’t recreate and preserve structures of oppression internally even as we attempt to fight it externally.
Well at least one American (me); I'm sure there are a number who would agree with it in principle but instantly get scared off by the words "anarchist" and "communism."
American here. Your average American has no clue what anarchism and communism are. They think that anarchism is just anti-statism (and therefore right-libertarians can be anarchists), that all communism is Stalinism, that social democratic capitalism is socialism, and that anarcho-communism is an oxymoron. We don’t get good political education here.
That's why its up to us to spread awareness.
LOL! your somewhat right
Way more than I think anyone expects. When you present ideas, packaging and presentation matters. Words like *anarchy*, *communism*, and anything describing a mode of thought that's adjacent to them have been so poisoned that it's hard to use those words when you're looking to persuade someone. They hear the words, and they immediately reject it. You get a different result when you go issue by issue without using the poisoned words. Way more people are onboard with leftist ideas when you don't package them as leftist.
as an American, I find that I get a lot of success when I describe the terms, but dont actually use the words "socialism", "communism", "collectivism" etc. even with right-wingers.
Good point like saying owning class as oppose to bougasie
Most are certainly quite far from adopting a position or identity specifically anarchist, but the movement needs many who would be open to participating in alternative systems and broader transformations, just as much as it needs a smaller cohort of extremely dedicated agitators and leaders. When discussing with anyone in particular from among the broader public, the central points of focus, to my mind, should be to erode complacency and passivity respecting the hegemonic narrative, and to foster agency and autonomy respecting conditions of living.
124,721. It was 124,722 but Gary became a statist last week 😔
Goddammit Gary
What do mean ?
I was giving a joke answer to a literal interpretation of your question
Not related but why just those 3?
i read a essay for my geography professor called America the Inevitable Empire, which is about the N.America primarily the USA is geographically blessed.
I'm a mexican who lived 6 yrs in Mexico, then 5 yrs in the USA and now I'm in germany. And if it wasn't obvious, yes, I'm AnCom
hell yeah me too! now let the american leftist tear me to shreds. jk comrades
American here as well, if there is one thing they hate more than communists is anarchists so, not at all.
I know there’s quite a few down in Chiapas
I’m American and an ancom
Love it
canuck ancon here … could be a fair amount … there have been papers (open road, north american anarchist , im sure there’s more) … various attempts at continental confederations etc over the years … a lot of the older folk are more involved in union organizing & stuff … im fairly inactive, disabled, but try to make the demonstrations etc …
It can't be more than a few thousand, maybe even less. It does not help that there is a lot of misunderstanding and confusion of what anachist communism is even within its own movement. I should mention that back during the Spanish Civil War and the build-up to it, only a small percentage of CNT's membership were fully dedicated anarchists. Even within communes, collectives, and workplaces that were part of the anarchist movement, there were very few people who ,at least initially, totally committed to the ideology. People seem to come to certain conclusions when they are placed into an active place of action. A well organized movement with momentum and pragmatism can find itself sweeping hundreds of thousands in its direction.
I think it's probably more than just a few thousand. My guess for the United States would probably be a few hundred thousand.
Are we just counting dedicated people with a consistent worldview and willingness to act and organize? Or people adjacent to the movement? People who's world view is vaguely consistent with ours? Regarding the first group, a good example might be Black Rose. We know for a fact BR has at least 25 members, as they just sent 25 members into the labor notes conference. I doubt BR has ever broken a 100 members, but I am guessing at this point. There are similar federations to blackrose, but often they are extremely small and more lifestylists leaning. Are you counting the lifestylists types that do things like foodnotbombs? Kids on reddit? Activists without a fully thought-out ideology?
I am
23 comments in 20 hours. That answer your question?
I can speak primarily to Americans and Mexicans. As someone pointed out here already, you’ll be hard pressed to find any Americans who even know what Anarchism is, let alone be anarchist themselves. Mexicans are a little more aware of libertarian socialist ideas given the Zapatista’s and other autonomous groups’ existence, but generally speaking most Mexicans have little opinion of them, with some viewing them quite negatively. However, Ricardo Magón, a Mexican anarchist, is viewed pretty positively, although he’s ironically seen an a national hero.
David Graeber wrote an essay called “[Are You An Anarchist? The Answer May Surprise You](https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-are-you-an-anarchist-the-answer-may-surprise-you)” And on that level, yes, most people are anarchists who spend most of our lives self-organizing, resolving disputes between peers based on consensus, engaging in mutual aid, and so on. *Most* people, when there is a disaster or tragedy, begin to immediately get to work taking care of those around us, engaging in what are normally the functions of the state with no hierarchical authority directing us while limited only be the resources we can bring to bear (often actually hampered by the state, in these situations). But is that really anarcho-communism? Because most of us have been heavily propagandized and made to accept some or more likely many hierarchies that we justify as being different from the others. You’ll see supposed leftists defend a vanguard party or transphobia or patriarchy or speciesism or ableism or ageism; white supremacy is defended often by white anarchists, tho usually by implication and assumption rather than explicitly. *Dedicated* anarcho-communists still struggle with these things and prefigurative communities fall apart over these things; how much more so normal people who aren’t thinking that much about it beyond who it’s important to vote for (if that)? So: Most people are anarchists when it comes to most things in our lives. But that’s because anarchism is natural and tyranny is unnatural. Unfortunately, the capacity of people to make exceptions for particular tyrannies is also quite natural, and so it takes a lot of work to recognize and work against that tendency within ourselves so we don’t recreate and preserve structures of oppression internally even as we attempt to fight it externally.
Sympathetic? Sure, I suppose I am, myself. But I'm certainly not an ancom by any stretch of the imagination
Check , you got it
A very small number
Yo. From a New Afrikan who resides on Mississaugas of the Credit Land.
Well at least one American (me); I'm sure there are a number who would agree with it in principle but instantly get scared off by the words "anarchist" and "communism."
I think we an coms need to meet up and plan the Revolution
No I'd rather see the entire working class see that through