Black Flag is back! Fifty years after first appearing, it has been relaunched as an on-line journal. This incarnation will be (at least) a bi-annual journal following in the footsteps Cienfuegos Press Anarchist Review and can be found here:
Black Flag: Anarchist Review will be a collection of new translations, rare articles and reprints of the best libertarian articles and reviews, whether modern or old. This issue includes a commemoration of Peter Kropotkin (including 8 rare or newly translated articles), an analysis of the Kronstadt revolt as the end of the Bolshevik Myth (including Ante Ciliga’s rightly famous 1938 article on the rebellion), the lessons of the Paris Commune (6 newly translated declarations, appeals, articles and speeches from the revolt) and two newly translated articles by Eugène Varlin, the martyred Internationalist and Communard. We also mark the passing of Stuart Christie, David Graeber and Ken Weller
The journal retains the same class struggle anarchist perspective the paper always had and aims to present a mixture of articles on current struggles and libertarian history. This first issue will have more of an emphasis on the latter than the former, although we hope this mix will change in future issues. If you think that mix should change, then get involved. We are open to articles from the class struggle anarchist tradition (whether syndicalist or not) or those close to it.
Contributions from libertarian socialists are welcome on these and other subjects! We are a small collective and always need help in writing, translating and gathering material, so please get in touch if you want to see Black Flag Anarchist Review continue.
This issue’s editorial and contents are:
Editorial
Welcome to the relaunched Black Flag!
Originally established by Albert Meltzer and Stuart Christie in 1968 as the Bulletin of the Anarchist Black Cross, it was renamed Black Flag in 1971 and has seen many formats and frequencies over its five decades of existence. At times a fortnightly newspaper (as during the Miners’ Strike of 1984-5), sometimes a quarterly, bi-annual or annual magazine, whether subtitled “for anarchist resistance” or “excitingly irregular”, it always presented a mixture of current struggles and libertarian history. We aim to continue this, albeit with more emphasis on the latter than the former for what we hope will be obvious reasons.
This incarnation will be (at least) a bi-annual journal following in the footsteps Cienfuegos Press Anarchist Review published in the 1970s. It will be a collection of new translations, rare articles and reprints of the best libertarian articles and reviews, whether modern or old. We will continue its tradition of advocating class struggle anarchism (whether syndicalist or not) and we are open to articles from that tradition or those close to it.
Why bother with the past? Simply because unless you understand and learn from the past, you will be doomed to repeat it. Moreover, what passes for “history” in radical circles is all too often unrelated to the facts of the matter, written (and often rewritten) to meet the requirements of party lines and hierarchies. Debunking the myths peddled by enemies of anarchism is always worth the effort, particularly if this also helps modern-day anarchists to get a better understanding of our forefathers and foremothers.
This issue sees the mix of current and historical very much in favour of the latter. Some may consider this unfortunate, but as Kropotkin said, “only those who do nothing make no mistakes”. Ultimately, Black Flag reflects those involved and willing to put in time and effort: if you want the mix to change, then get involved. If you want to contribute rather than moan at those who do, whether its writing new material or letting us know of on-line articles, reviews or translations), then contact us:
Contents
Robert Graham, In Commemoration of Peter Kropotkin (1842-1921)
- “Workers’ Organisation”, Le Révolté, 10 and 24 December 1881
- “The Trade Union Congress”, Freedom, October 1896
- “Servitude or Freedom?”, Les Temps nouveaux, 20 January 1900
- “The Conquest of Socialists by Power”, Les Temps Nouveaux, 21 April 1900
- “Economic Action or Parliamentary Politics”, Les Temps Nouveaux, 25 June 1910
- “The Bourgeoisie and Parliamentary Socialism”, Les Temps Nouveaux, 23 July 1910
- “Natural Selection and Mutual Aid”, Humanity, December 1896
- “A Letter from Russia”, Le Libertaire, 22 July 1921
Kronstadt: The end of the Bolshevik Myth
- Ante Ciliga, “The Kronstadt Uprising and the fate of the Russian Revolution”, La Révolution Prolétarienne, 10 September 1938
Lessons of the Paris Commune
- “Declaration to the French People”, Journal officiel de la Commune de Paris, 20 April 1871
- “Decree on convening workers trade councils”, Journal officiel de la République française , 17 April 1871
- A Group of Citizenesses, “Appeal to the Citizenesses of Paris”, Journal officiel de la Commune de Paris, 11 April 1871
- André Léo, “To the worker of the countryside”, La Commune, 10 April 1871
- André Léo, “Revolution without Women”, La Sociale, 8 May 1871
- Louise Michel, Statement before the Military Tribunal, 18 December 1871
Eugène Varlin: Internationalist and Communard
- “The Presidency of Mutual Assistance Societies”, La Marseillaise, 20 January 1870
- “Workers Societies”, La Marseillaise, 11 March 1870
Stuart Christie (1946-2020)
- Anarchism – A Definition
- Statement by the Black Flag Group
- Preface to The Floodgates of Anarchy
David Graeber (1961-2020)
- On the Invention of Money
Ken Weller (1935-2021)
- The Flux interview
The “Black Flag”, Le Drapeau Noir : Organe Anarchiste (Lyons), 12 August 1883
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